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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: bark · wind · kid · pitch · pound · mine · season · drill

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  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. mine — belonging to me
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. drill — the tool
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. drill — army training
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mine — for digging
  8. season — in sport
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. bark — to shout
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. kid — child
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. drill — a practice
  20. pitch — completely
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. kid — to tease
  23. season — of the year
  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