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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. chip — for betting
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. land — a country
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chest — a box
  9. bore — to drill
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. tear — to rip
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. land — to come down
  17. bore — to tire
  18. land — ground
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. tear — from crying
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. tear — from crying
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. chip — in a computer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com