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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. fine — all right
  3. prune — to trim
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. track — to keep track
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. clip — to cut
  11. prune — to trim
  12. clip — for paper
  13. track — a path
  14. clip — a video
  15. present — a gift
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. pound — a weight
  18. present — there
  19. track — a song
  20. present — the time now
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. fine — high quality
  24. dip — to sink

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