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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. rest — what's left
  3. pound — a weight
  4. bark — to shout
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. mug — to rob
  9. tear — from crying
  10. row — a line
  11. mug — a face
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. tear — to rip
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. rest — what's left
  19. row — to paddle
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. mug — a cup

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