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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 · file · kick · chest · nail · wound · race · wind

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. wind — moving air
  3. chest — a box
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. file — a document
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. file — a tool
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pound — a weight
  13. kick — in football
  14. wind — moving air
  15. race — humankind
  16. file — a line of people
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. wound — an injury
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wound — an injury
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. chest — of your body

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