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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 120 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: bark · kick · swing · pound · key · pitch · kid · track

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pound — a weight
  3. track — a song
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. swing — to play on
  7. key — for a lock
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. key — the most important part
  10. swing — music
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — in football
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. track — a path
  17. swing — in golf
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. bark — to shout
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. key — in music
  23. track — to keep track
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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