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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pound — a weight
  3. cold — an illness
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. content — happy
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. degree — from a university
  8. hand — in cards
  9. staff — a stick
  10. last — finally
  11. cold — not warm
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. content — the amount
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. last — to go on
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. degree — temperature
  18. last — final
  19. hand — help
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. degree — an amount
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. staff — employees
  24. hand — part of the body

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