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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: rest · mine · pop · last · ground · straw · club · kid

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. club — for dancing
  3. last — finally
  4. pop — music
  5. pop — to visit
  6. rest — a break
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. ground — a position
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. last — to go on
  11. club — a group
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. club — for golf
  14. kid — child
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. rest — what's left
  17. kid — to tease
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — crushed
  20. mine — for digging
  21. last — final
  22. pop — soda
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. rest — what's left

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