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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 · cue · bass · saw · chest · object · kid · rash

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cue — for pool
  4. object — an aim
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cue — a hint
  7. object — to protest
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. pound — a weight
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rash — a series
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bass — the fish
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bass — low music
  19. saw — the tool
  20. rash — hasty
  21. object — a thing
  22. chest — a box
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. cue — a signal

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