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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 · mug · pop

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

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

Answer key

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

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