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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: kid · perch · wind · pound · hand · foot · nail · cabinet

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. foot — a measure
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pound — a weight
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. perch — the fish
  9. hand — help
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wind — moving air
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. kid — to tease
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. wind — moving air
  24. kid — child

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