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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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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: bass · chest · deal · file · kid · pound · staff · wave

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. kid — child
  3. deal — to handle
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. bass — low music
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. bass — the fish
  9. staff — employees
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. file — a line of people
  15. staff — employees
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. pound — a weight
  22. staff — a stick
  23. chest — a box
  24. kid — to tease

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