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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: wound · bass · fork · rock · pound · nail

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. rock — a stone
  8. bass — low music
  9. pound — a weight
  10. wound — an injury
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bass — the fish

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