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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: pound · kid · key · cue · chest · rash · current · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. chest — of your body
  6. kid — child
  7. current — electric
  8. key — the most important part
  9. key — for a lock
  10. chest — of your body
  11. key — in music
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rash — a series
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. kid — to tease
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cue — a signal
  18. hand — in cards
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. current — happening now
  21. cue — a hint
  22. chest — a box
  23. rash — hasty
  24. current — of water

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