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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 116 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. present — the time now
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. clip — for paper
  5. present — a gift
  6. mate — a friend
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. track — to keep track
  9. pound — a weight
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. clip — to cut
  12. present — there
  13. clip — a video
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. mate — to breed
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. track — a path
  22. track — a song
  23. snap — to click
  24. mate — a partner

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