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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. spell — letters
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. object — a thing
  8. spring — a coil
  9. wind — moving air
  10. plane — a tool
  11. rash — hasty
  12. spell — a short time
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. rash — a series
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. wind — moving air
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. object — to protest
  21. pound — a weight
  22. content — happy
  23. spell — magic
  24. object — an aim

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