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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · chest · rash · file · land · drill · bound · mate

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. drill — a practice
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a document
  5. mate — a partner
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — certain
  8. drill — army training
  9. land — a country
  10. mate — a friend
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. land — ground
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rash — hasty
  15. file — a line of people
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. land — to come down
  18. mate — to breed
  19. bound — obliged
  20. drill — the tool
  21. rash — a series
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. pound — a weight

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