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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: hide · fall · pound · saw · wind · mouse · tear · straw

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. fall — the season
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. tear — from crying
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. fall — to drop
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. pound — a weight
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. wind — moving air
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. saw — the tool

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