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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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Word bank
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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: fall · ground · straw · saw · net · track · pound · swing

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. ground — the earth
  3. track — a song
  4. net — after costs
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. net — for catching
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. fall — to drop
  10. ground — crushed
  11. fall — to drop
  12. swing — in golf
  13. ground — a position
  14. swing — music
  15. pound — a weight
  16. track — a path
  17. saw — the tool
  18. fall — the season
  19. saw — the tool
  20. net — in sport
  21. swing — to play on
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. track — to keep track
  24. straw — dry grass

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