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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: object · track · straw · chest · bat · tear · mug · pound

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. object — a thing
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mug — a face
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. mug — a cup
  10. chest — a box
  11. track — a path
  12. tear — to rip
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. object — an aim
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. track — to keep track
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. pound — a weight
  22. chest — of your body
  23. object — to protest
  24. track — a song

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