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

Word bank: ground · straw · cap · pitcher · fan · pound

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. cap — of ice
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. ground — the earth
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. cap — a lid
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — a position
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pound — a weight
  18. straw — a straw man

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