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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 · wake · wound · straw · coach · fall

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. fall — to drop
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. fall — the season
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. wound — an injury
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wake — a trail

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