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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: key · wind · chest · pound · lean · pop · rash · mate

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pop — music
  5. key — for a lock
  6. pop — soda
  7. lean — thin
  8. mate — a friend
  9. lean — to bend
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. mate — a partner
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. rash — hasty
  15. chest — a box
  16. key — in music
  17. mate — to breed
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. chest — of your body
  20. key — the most important part
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. rash — a series
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pound — a weight

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