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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. scale — in music
  3. pound — a weight
  4. wound — an injury
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — size or range
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. content — happy
  9. march — music
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. march — the month
  12. lean — thin
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. march — the month
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. snap — to click
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — a country
  22. wound — an injury
  23. land — ground
  24. content — the amount

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