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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 124 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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. pound — a weight
  11. tube — a container
  12. mine — for digging
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. can — to be able to
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. can — a tin
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bat — the animal
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. can — a tin
  24. straw — dry grass

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