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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mate — to breed
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. mate — a friend
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. land — a country
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. suit — clothes
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pound — a weight
  18. suit — in cards
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. suit — to fit
  21. mate — a partner
  22. rest — what's left
  23. land — ground
  24. land — to come down

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