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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. drill — a practice
  4. cap — a hat
  5. bank — for money
  6. row — to paddle
  7. shower — to wash
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bank — of a river
  13. drill — the tool
  14. cap — of ice
  15. drill — army training
  16. content — happy
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. bank — for money
  19. cap — a lid
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. sharp — clever
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. shower — rain

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