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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. drill — a practice
  4. shower — rain
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. content — happy
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. wake — a trail
  12. drill — the tool
  13. content — the amount
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. lie — to recline
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. row — to paddle
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. shower — to wash
  24. drill — army training

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