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

Word bank: pound · mate · stick · straw · cap · cell

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. 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. mate — a partner
  2. cap — a lid
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cell — in biology
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. mate — a friend
  11. cap — a hat
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cap — of ice
  16. mate — to breed
  17. pound — a weight
  18. 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