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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. drill — army training
  4. wind — moving air
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. pound — a weight
  10. present — there
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — a law
  13. club — for golf
  14. chair — a leader
  15. club — for dancing
  16. wind — moving air
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. present — the time now
  19. club — a group
  20. drill — the tool
  21. present — a gift
  22. drill — a practice
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. chair — to sit on

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