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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 116 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. track — a path
  3. swing — to play on
  4. wake — a trail
  5. track — to keep track
  6. swing — in golf
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pound — a weight
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. mug — a cup
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. swing — music
  17. track — a song
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. mug — to rob
  22. bat — the animal
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pound — to hit hard

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