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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. cap — a hat
  7. pound — a weight
  8. cap — a lid
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. chip — to eat
  12. mine — for digging
  13. content — the amount
  14. last — to go on
  15. cap — of ice
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. last — finally
  19. wind — moving air
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. content — happy
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. last — final
  24. wind — moving air

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