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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 120 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. degree — from a university
  4. club — a group
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. club — for dancing
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. degree — an amount
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. club — for golf
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. wound — an injury
  15. degree — temperature
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. mine — for digging
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pound — a weight
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. pound — to hit hard

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