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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. rest — what's left
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. present — the time now
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. pound — a weight
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — final
  15. content — the amount
  16. rest — a break
  17. last — finally
  18. present — there
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. present — a gift
  23. rest — what's left
  24. pound — to hit hard

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