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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: kid · pound · chest · file · ball · hide · net · bass

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. file — a tool
  5. bass — the fish
  6. file — a line of people
  7. ball — a dance
  8. bass — low music
  9. ball — a great time
  10. pound — a weight
  11. net — for catching
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. net — after costs
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. file — a document
  24. net — in sport

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