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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. kid — child
  4. content — happy
  5. spell — magic
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. spell — a short time
  8. hand — help
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. pound — a weight
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. spell — letters
  13. band — a ring
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. content — the amount
  19. band — a music group
  20. kid — to tease
  21. stem — to come from
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. hand — in cards

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