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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: wind · prune · land · pound · club · object · cell · rush

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. object — a thing
  5. land — to come down
  6. cell — in biology
  7. wind — moving air
  8. club — for golf
  9. club — for dancing
  10. land — ground
  11. object — to protest
  12. object — an aim
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. club — a group
  18. rush — hurry
  19. wind — moving air
  20. land — a country
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. cell — a phone
  24. prune — to trim

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