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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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Word bank
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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 · racket · bear · wind · chest · march

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. chest — of your body
  3. march — the month
  4. bear — the animal
  5. chest — a box
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bear — the animal
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. march — music
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. chest — of your body
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wind — moving air
  18. march — the month

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