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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: row · kid · spring · last · hand · bear · pound · fine

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. row — a line
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. fine — all right
  7. last — final
  8. last — finally
  9. spring — the season
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. hand — help
  12. fine — high quality
  13. kid — child
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. pound — a weight
  16. bear — the animal
  17. row — to paddle
  18. last — to go on
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bear — the animal
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. hand — in cards
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. kid — to tease

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