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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: chest · pound · club · straw · rest · track · saw · tear

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. pound — a weight
  3. rest — what's left
  4. track — a path
  5. tear — from crying
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a song
  9. club — for golf
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. club — a group
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. chest — of your body
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. club — for dancing
  20. rest — a break
  21. saw — the tool
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. pound — for dogs

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