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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 · present · pound · wind · row · cue · file · rash

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. file — a line of people
  5. kid — child
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — a series
  8. file — a tool
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cue — a hint
  11. pound — a weight
  12. present — a gift
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. cue — for pool
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. file — a document
  18. wind — moving air
  19. present — there
  20. cue — a signal
  21. row — a line
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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