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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 116 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. land — ground
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. kid — to tease
  8. land — to come down
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rash — hasty
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. rash — a series
  15. land — a country
  16. pound — a weight
  17. kid — child
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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