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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. content — the amount
  5. dip — to sink
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. roll — a list
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. key — for a lock
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. roll — a cake
  14. pound — a weight
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. key — the most important part
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. clip — for paper
  19. key — in music
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. content — happy
  22. clip — a video
  23. cell — in biology
  24. clip — to cut

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