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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: club · staff · tear · roll · bat · net · wind · pound

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. staff — employees
  3. club — for golf
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. tear — to rip
  8. net — after costs
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. club — a group
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. wind — moving air
  15. tear — from crying
  16. club — for dancing
  17. roll — a list
  18. net — in sport
  19. bat — the animal
  20. staff — employees
  21. net — for catching
  22. staff — a stick
  23. pound — a weight
  24. roll — a cake

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