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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: pound · wind · prune · bay · land · staff · foot · last

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. last — finally
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. land — ground
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. wind — moving air
  10. staff — employees
  11. last — final
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. staff — a stick
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. last — to go on
  16. land — a country
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. staff — employees
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. pound — a weight
  21. wind — moving air
  22. prune — to trim
  23. foot — a measure
  24. prune — to trim

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