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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bound — tied together
  4. sharp — clever
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — in sport
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. fine — all right
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bound — certain
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bound — obliged
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. mine — for digging
  19. content — happy
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. fine — high quality
  24. net — after costs

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