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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 120 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: land · hand · pound · perch · nail · race · fall · board

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. land — ground
  8. pound — a weight
  9. board — to get on
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. board — a committee
  16. land — a country
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. race — humankind
  21. hand — help
  22. fall — the season
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. land — to come down

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