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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: pound · kid · race · swing · land · bay

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — ground
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. pound — a weight
  7. land — a country
  8. kid — to tease
  9. swing — to play on
  10. race — humankind
  11. kid — child
  12. swing — music
  13. race — the arms race
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. swing — in golf
  18. race — a contest

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