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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. fork — in a road
  3. bass — the fish
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. content — happy
  13. clip — for paper
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. content — the amount
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — low music
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pound — a weight
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. wave — of the sea

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