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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. march — the month
  5. charge — in control
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — the animal
  8. charge — a price
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. march — the month
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. charge — electricity
  13. march — music
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. net — for catching
  18. pound — a weight
  19. dip — to sink
  20. net — after costs
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. land — to come down
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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