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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. net — after costs
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. swing — to play on
  6. net — for catching
  7. branch — a division
  8. swing — music
  9. net — in sport
  10. bank — for money
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. pound — a weight
  13. wind — moving air
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. bank — for money
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. swing — in golf
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. bank — of a river
  21. shower — rain
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wind — moving air
  24. shower — to wash

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