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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. last — finally
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. net — in sport
  6. last — to go on
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. clip — a video
  9. craft — boats
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. chair — a leader
  13. net — for catching
  14. last — final
  15. net — after costs
  16. craft — a skill
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. content — happy
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. clip — to cut
  22. kick — in football
  23. clip — for paper
  24. content — the amount

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