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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 116 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: club · pound · fine · lash · field · spring · bass · kid

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. club — for dancing
  4. spring — the season
  5. fine — high quality
  6. kid — to tease
  7. field — farmland
  8. kid — child
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. field — a subject
  13. club — a group
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the fish
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. field — for sport
  18. fine — all right
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. club — for golf
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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