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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 120 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: bass · kick · pound · shower · mine · pit · nail · ball

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — low music
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. shower — to wash
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. pit — a hole
  14. shower — rain
  15. mine — for digging
  16. kick — in football
  17. ball — a great time
  18. bass — the fish
  19. ball — a dance
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. pit — in a race
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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