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

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. row — to paddle
  4. rest — what's left
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. march — the month
  8. wound — an injury
  9. track — to keep track
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. march — music
  12. content — the amount
  13. rest — a break
  14. track — a song
  15. branch — a division
  16. march — the month
  17. wound — an injury
  18. row — a line
  19. track — a path
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. content — happy
  23. rest — what's left
  24. branch — of a tree

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