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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: club · hide · march · pound · kid · present

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. kid — to tease
  3. present — there
  4. club — for golf
  5. march — the month
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — a weight
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. club — for dancing
  11. march — music
  12. kid — child
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. club — a group
  16. present — a gift
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. present — the time now

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