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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  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. rush — a thrill
  2. content — happy
  3. fall — to drop
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. content — the amount
  6. cell — in biology
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. pop — soda
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pop — to visit
  13. cell — a phone
  14. hand — in cards
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rush — hurry
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. pop — music
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. pound — a weight
  22. hand — help
  23. fall — the season
  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