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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. court — for sport
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. mine — for digging
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. wake — a trail
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. court — of law
  18. pound — a weight
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. deal — to handle
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. court — of a king

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