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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. pound — a weight
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. mate — a friend
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. band — a ring
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — a trail
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. mate — to breed
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. file — a line of people
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. band — a music group
  23. mate — a partner
  24. snap — to click

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