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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: spring · squash · pitcher · board · arm · clip · land · pound

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. spring — the season
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. squash — to crush
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — to get on
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. land — ground
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. land — to come down
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. clip — a video
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. clip — to cut
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. clip — for paper
  20. board — a committee
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. pound — a weight
  24. squash — the sport

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