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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: chest · bay · perch · pound · drill · wind

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chest — of your body
  5. drill — the tool
  6. perch — the fish
  7. drill — army training
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pound — a weight
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. chest — a box
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. drill — a practice

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