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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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468
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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. ground — a position
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. chest — of your body
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. pound — a weight
  8. content — happy
  9. chest — of your body
  10. fine — high quality
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bulb — for light
  13. ground — crushed
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. rest — what's left
  16. chest — a box
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. bulb — for light
  19. content — the amount
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. content — videos and posts

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