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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ground · kick · nail · rash · row · mine · pound · wound

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. mine — for digging
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. ground — crushed
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. rash — a series
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. row — a line
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. row — to paddle
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. ground — the earth
  23. rash — hasty
  24. ground — a position

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