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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pound · stick · cell · straw · wind · shower

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. wind — moving air
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. cell — in biology
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — a weight
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. shower — to wash
  13. cell — a phone
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. straw — dry grass

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