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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. pound — a weight
  3. wound — an injury
  4. content — happy
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. pit — a hole
  7. net — after costs
  8. wound — an injury
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — an aim
  11. object — a thing
  12. content — the amount
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. track — a song
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. net — in sport
  19. pit — in a race
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. net — for catching
  22. track — to keep track
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — clever

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