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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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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: bay · pound · mine · key · ground · arm · bat · wind

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. key — in music
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. ground — the earth
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bat — the animal
  8. key — the most important part
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. pound — a weight
  11. ground — crushed
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. wind — moving air
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. key — for a lock
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. ground — a position
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. mine — for digging

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