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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. ground — a position
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. ground — the earth
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. present — the time now
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. ground — crushed
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — of the year
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. dip — to sink
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. season — in sport
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. present — a gift
  24. straw — a straw man

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