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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bound — obliged
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bound — certain
  7. cell — a phone
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — happy
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. march — music
  12. last — to go on
  13. march — the month
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pound — a weight
  17. last — final
  18. bound — tied together
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. march — the month
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. fall — the season
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. last — finally

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