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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: bass · last · drill · lean · pound · rash · hand · bound

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. drill — a practice
  3. last — final
  4. drill — army training
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. lean — to bend
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. bound — tied together
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. bass — low music
  13. lean — thin
  14. bound — certain
  15. pound — a weight
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. drill — the tool
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — a series
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bass — the fish
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rash — hasty
  24. last — finally

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