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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: fan · pound · spring · ball · bound · land · staff · chest

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. staff — employees
  3. spring — the season
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. spring — of water
  6. bound — certain
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. staff — a stick
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pound — a weight
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bound — obliged
  14. ball — a dance
  15. staff — employees
  16. land — ground
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. land — to come down
  19. ball — a great time
  20. bound — tied together
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. land — a country
  23. chest — of your body
  24. spring — a coil

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