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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bat — the animal
  6. charge — in control
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. content — the amount
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. content — happy
  13. charge — a price
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. stand — to bear
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. face — to confront
  18. cold — an illness
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. charge — electricity
  21. scale — size or range
  22. cold — not warm
  23. scale — in music
  24. face — to point toward

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