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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: straw · kick · wind · drill · pound · field

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. field — farmland
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. drill — the tool
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. field — for sport
  11. kick — in football
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. drill — army training
  18. field — a subject

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