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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: land · last · foot · pound · cap · straw · present · mouse

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. present — a gift
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. cap — of ice
  6. last — final
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — there
  11. cap — a lid
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. pound — a weight
  21. cap — a hat
  22. last — finally
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. land — to come down

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