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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. stem — to come from
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. key — for a lock
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. key — the most important part
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. toast — bread
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. pound — a weight
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. perch — the fish
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. key — in music
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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