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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: arm · temple · pound · pitch · wind · jam · drill · fine

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fine — all right
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. drill — a practice
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. drill — the tool
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. fine — high quality
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. pitch — completely
  20. drill — army training
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. wind — moving air

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