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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 · wind · cold · jam · sharp · bay · perch · lash

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. wind — moving air
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pound — a weight
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. sharp — clever
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cold — not warm
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. perch — the fish
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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