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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: hide · bat · pound · tube · kick · face · wound · club

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. face — to point toward
  4. club — for dancing
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pound — a weight
  7. wound — an injury
  8. tube — the underground
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. club — a group
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. face — part of the head
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. kick — in football
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. bat — the animal
  18. face — to confront
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. club — for golf
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — in a tire

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