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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. club — for dancing
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. cold — an illness
  11. club — for golf
  12. club — a group
  13. wake — a trail
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. rest — a break
  19. dip — to sink
  20. rest — what's left
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. pound — a weight

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