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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: rock · deal · pound · wind · bat · kick

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rock — music
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. pound — a weight
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. kick — in football
  18. wind — moving air

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