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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: rush · deal · bark · bear · chest · pound · wound · ground

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. rush — hurry
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. ground — a position
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. deal — to handle
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. chest — of your body
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bear — the animal
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pound — a weight
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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