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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — to breed
  5. scale — in music
  6. pound — a weight
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. branch — a division
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. firm — steady
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. firm — decided
  20. bark — to shout
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. firm — a company
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. scale — size or range

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