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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: wave · chest · pound · kick · sharp · wind

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. sharp — clever
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. chest — of your body
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. pound — a weight
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. kick — in football
  18. wind — to turn a key

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