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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. pound — a weight
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. land — to come down
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. net — in sport
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. land — a country
  12. vault — a safe
  13. net — for catching
  14. mine — for digging
  15. land — ground
  16. net — after costs
  17. kid — child
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. kid — to tease
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. content — happy

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