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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: pound · rush · kid · foot · face · clip · root · spell

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. pound — a weight
  3. kid — to tease
  4. foot — a measure
  5. clip — for paper
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a plant
  9. clip — to cut
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to confront
  12. clip — a video
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — letters
  15. rush — hurry
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. face — to point toward
  18. spell — a short time
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. kid — child
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. root — of a word

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