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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — soda
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. tube — a container
  7. pound — a weight
  8. land — to come down
  9. club — for dancing
  10. tube — the underground
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. land — a country
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. club — for golf
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — to shout
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. land — ground
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. club — a group

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