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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. fall — the season
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a line of people
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bat — the animal
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pound — a weight
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. file — a tool
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fall — to drop
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. straw — a straw man

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