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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: scale · kick · track · last · pound · sharp · pit · spring

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. last — to go on
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. pit — in a race
  8. kick — in football
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. track — a song
  11. sharp — clever
  12. scale — size or range
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. last — final
  16. pit — a hole
  17. scale — in music
  18. pound — a weight
  19. spring — a coil
  20. last — finally
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — the season
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. track — to keep track

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