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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: can · kid · lean · rule · land · spell · pound · pitch

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. kid — to tease
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. rule — government
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — magic
  11. lean — thin
  12. rule — a law
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. kid — child
  15. land — ground
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. pound — a weight
  19. spell — a short time
  20. pitch — completely
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. can — a tin
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. can — a tin

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