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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: bound · bat · board · sharp · kid · pound · hand · scale

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bound — obliged
  4. hand — help
  5. board — to get on
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — clever
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — tied together
  13. scale — size or range
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. kid — child
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. kid — to tease
  20. scale — in music
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. board — a committee

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