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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: pound · pitch · plane · foot · wind · hide · clip · rash

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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. clip — a video
  4. clip — for paper
  5. rash — hasty
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. pitch — completely
  9. wind — moving air
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. foot — a measure
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. plane — a tool
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. clip — to cut
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. pound — a weight
  22. rash — a series
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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