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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. staff — employees
  2. pound — a weight
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. lean — thin
  5. staff — a stick
  6. land — a country
  7. lean — to bend
  8. land — to come down
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. squash — to crush
  14. plane — a tool
  15. staff — employees
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. land — ground
  19. bark — to shout
  20. content — happy
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. squash — the sport
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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