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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: key · foot · wind · pound · bowl · root · cabinet · kid

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. wind — moving air
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — a weight
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. kid — child
  12. key — in music
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — of a word
  15. key — the most important part
  16. key — for a lock
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. foot — a measure
  20. root — the cause
  21. kid — to tease
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. cabinet — ministers

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