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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. pound — a weight
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — to tease
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a tool
  8. bear — the animal
  9. content — the amount
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. spring — the season
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — happy
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. file — a document
  16. spring — of water
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. spring — a coil
  22. object — an aim
  23. object — a thing
  24. pound — for dogs

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