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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 124 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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bark — to shout
  5. pop — music
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — for catching
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. content — happy
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. clip — a video
  19. pop — soda
  20. content — the amount
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. stand — to bear
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. net — in sport

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