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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. bear — the animal
  3. pound — a weight
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. bear — the animal
  8. spring — the season
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. spring — of water
  12. roll — a cake
  13. spring — a coil
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. content — happy
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. roll — a list
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. content — the amount
  24. fall — the season

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