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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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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 · wave · chip · file · track · squash · band · kid

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pound — a weight
  5. track — a path
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. squash — the sport
  8. file — a document
  9. band — a ring
  10. file — a tool
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. kid — child
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. track — to keep track
  16. chip — for betting
  17. band — a music group
  18. chip — to eat
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. track — a song
  24. squash — to crush

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