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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. pound — a weight
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. land — to come down
  9. spring — a coil
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. cell — a phone
  12. lean — to bend
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. land — a country
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. spring — of water
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. lean — thin
  22. spring — the season
  23. cell — in biology
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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