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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. bank — for money
  3. bark — to shout
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. kid — to tease
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pound — a weight
  9. snap — to click
  10. last — to go on
  11. bank — of a river
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. last — final
  15. bank — for money
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. kid — child
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. last — finally

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