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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 116 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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. spell — magic
  5. press — newspapers
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. spell — a short time
  10. clip — for paper
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. content — happy
  13. content — the amount
  14. press — to push
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pound — a weight
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. rock — a stone
  19. kick — in football
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. rock — music
  22. press — a publisher
  23. clip — a video
  24. spell — letters

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