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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. file — a document
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. field — a subject
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. wind — moving air
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. file — a line of people
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. file — a tool
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. field — farmland
  22. wound — an injury
  23. field — for sport
  24. arm — part of the body

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