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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: firm · pop · club · bear · wind · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. club — for golf
  5. pop — to visit
  6. firm — decided
  7. firm — steady
  8. kid — child
  9. club — a group
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — soda
  12. bear — the animal
  13. club — for dancing
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. firm — a company
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bear — the animal

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