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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: firm · chest · spring · pass · game · pound · wind · spell

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. spring — the season
  4. pound — a weight
  5. chest — of your body
  6. game — a match
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chest — a box
  12. pass — a permit
  13. spell — magic
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. chest — of your body
  18. spell — letters
  19. firm — decided
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. firm — a company
  24. wind — moving air

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