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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. last — final
  4. tube — a container
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. last — to go on
  13. bat — the animal
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. last — finally
  20. tube — the underground
  21. snap — to click
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. pound — a weight

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