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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 116 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. pound — a weight
  4. spell — letters
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. spell — a short time
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. content — happy
  11. land — a country
  12. content — the amount
  13. board — to get on
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — of the year
  16. spell — magic
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. season — in sport
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. board — a committee
  24. kid — to tease

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