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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. spell — a short time
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. last — final
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pound — a weight
  11. mine — for digging
  12. last — to go on
  13. wind — moving air
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. last — finally
  18. spell — magic
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. pitch — completely
  21. spell — letters
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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