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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 · pound · calf · wind · spring · wax · spell · game

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. 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 — a weight
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. chest — of your body
  6. spring — the season
  7. chest — a box
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spring — a coil
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. spell — magic
  12. game — wild animals
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. spell — letters
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wind — moving air
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. spring — of water
  22. chest — of your body
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. 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