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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. mug — to rob
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bore — to drill
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. mug — a face
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. mug — a cup
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. chest — a box
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. pound — a weight
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. bore — to tire
  20. fine — all right
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. wind — moving air
  24. straw — dry grass

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