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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. field — a subject
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. field — for sport
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. shower — to wash
  16. game — a match
  17. field — farmland
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. game — wild animals
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. pound — a weight
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. shower — rain

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