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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  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. bound — tied together
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. game — wild animals
  4. chest — a box
  5. track — a song
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bark — to shout
  10. deal — to handle
  11. chest — of your body
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. track — a path
  14. bound — certain
  15. content — happy
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. pound — a weight
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. track — to keep track
  22. game — a match
  23. bound — obliged
  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