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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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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: drill · pitch · pound · object · rush · wound · spring · foot

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  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. foot — a measure
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. rush — hurry
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. drill — a practice
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. object — to protest
  14. spring — the season
  15. pitch — completely
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. drill — the tool
  19. object — a thing
  20. wound — an injury
  21. object — an aim
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. drill — army training
  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