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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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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: kick · club · pound · face · drill · roll · bear · wound

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. face — to confront
  3. wound — an injury
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. drill — army training
  7. kick — in football
  8. drill — a practice
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. roll — a cake
  11. club — for dancing
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to point toward
  14. club — a group
  15. roll — a list
  16. pound — a weight
  17. drill — the tool
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. club — for golf
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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