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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: board · squash · nail · pound · land · wind · kid · fork

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. squash — the sport
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. land — to come down
  10. fork — in a road
  11. land — ground
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. board — to get on
  14. board — a committee
  15. kid — to tease
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. pound — a weight
  18. wind — moving air
  19. land — a country
  20. kid — child
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. pound — for dogs

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