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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 120 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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. tear — to rip
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. pound — a weight
  10. tear — from crying
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. swing — in golf
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. swing — to play on
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. tear — from crying
  23. shower — rain
  24. swing — music

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