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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. hand — help
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — the earth
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pound — a weight
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. can — to be able to
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. ground — crushed
  16. can — a tin
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. present — a gift
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. bear — the animal
  21. can — a tin
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. present — the time now

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