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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: lash · foot · mine · straw · cue · pound · cold · present

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. 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. pound — for dogs
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. cue — a hint
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. cue — for pool
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — there
  11. pound — a weight
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. foot — a measure
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. present — a gift
  18. cold — an illness
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. mine — for digging
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cue — a signal
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. 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