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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: pound · squash · board · chest · tear · wind

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. board — a committee
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pound — a weight
  6. chest — of your body
  7. squash — the sport
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. tear — to rip
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. board — to get on
  12. squash — to crush
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wind — moving air
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pound — to hit hard

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