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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: plane · pound · swing · bay · fan · bark · band · kid

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. pound — a weight
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. swing — to play on
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. kid — child
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. plane — a tool
  12. bark — to shout
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. swing — in golf
  15. band — a ring
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. band — a music group

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