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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: press · face · nail · wind · sharp · track · foot · pound

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. track — a path
  3. track — a song
  4. sharp — clever
  5. press — a publisher
  6. wind — moving air
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. press — to push
  10. face — to confront
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pound — a weight
  18. press — newspapers
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. foot — a measure
  21. track — to keep track
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — part of the head
  24. nail — for a hammer

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