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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. pound — a weight
  4. last — final
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. last — finally
  8. last — to go on
  9. sharp — clever
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. rash — a series
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. rash — hasty
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. fork — in a road
  22. chest — a box
  23. stem — to come from
  24. sharp — with an edge

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