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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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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: pound · ball · tear · chest · race · track · spell · fine

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. spell — letters
  3. race — humankind
  4. chest — a box
  5. fine — all right
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. tear — to rip
  8. race — the arms race
  9. spell — a short time
  10. chest — of your body
  11. track — to keep track
  12. fine — high quality
  13. spell — magic
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. track — a song
  16. race — a contest
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. ball — a great time
  20. ball — a dance
  21. tear — from crying
  22. track — a path
  23. tear — from crying
  24. chest — of your body

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