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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: pit · pound · march · row · dip · bowl · date · wind

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. pit — a hole
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. row — a line
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. row — to paddle
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. dip — to sink
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. date — the fruit

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