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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: present · mate · swing · bound · kid · plane · land · pound

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. present — the time now
  4. bound — tied together
  5. swing — in golf
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. land — ground
  8. present — a gift
  9. bound — obliged
  10. mate — a friend
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. swing — music
  13. plane — a tool
  14. kid — child
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — a country
  17. present — there
  18. mate — to breed
  19. pound — a weight
  20. swing — to play on
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. bound — certain
  24. mate — a partner

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