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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 120 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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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. chest — of your body
  4. pop — soda
  5. race — a contest
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. rash — hasty
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. race — the arms race
  11. hand — in cards
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pop — to visit
  16. rash — a series
  17. fall — to drop
  18. race — humankind
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. fall — to drop
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. pop — music
  24. hand — help

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