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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 120 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 · rush · kid · foot · face · clip

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. rush — hurry
  3. pound — a weight
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. foot — a measure
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to point toward
  8. face — to confront
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. kid — child
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. clip — for paper
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. clip — a video
  16. kid — to tease
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. clip — to cut

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