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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: drill · sharp · perch · pound · lash · net · wind · spring

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. drill — a practice
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. pound — a weight
  7. wind — moving air
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. spring — a coil
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. spring — the season
  14. sharp — clever
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. net — in sport
  18. wind — moving air
  19. spring — of water
  20. net — after costs
  21. perch — the fish
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

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