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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 · lash · wound · file · spring · arm · root · rest

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. rest — a break
  4. pound — a weight
  5. root — of a word
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — the season
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. wound — an injury
  17. spring — a coil
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. file — a document
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. root — the cause
  22. root — of a plant
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. pound — for dogs

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