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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. dip — to sink
  3. content — happy
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. field — farmland
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. spell — magic
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. spell — a short time
  15. stem — to come from
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. field — a subject
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. spell — letters
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. field — for sport
  24. content — the amount

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