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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 116 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 · staff · stock · wind · cell · bat · land · kick

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. cell — in biology
  3. kick — in football
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. bat — the animal
  6. land — ground
  7. wind — moving air
  8. staff — a stick
  9. staff — employees
  10. cell — a phone
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — goods
  15. land — to come down
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. wind — moving air
  20. land — a country
  21. stock — shares
  22. pound — a weight
  23. staff — employees
  24. kick — a thrill

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