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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pitch — completely
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. stand — to bear
  9. pound — a weight
  10. mate — a friend
  11. saw — the tool
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. saw — the tool
  15. mate — a partner
  16. last — final
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. content — happy
  20. row — to paddle
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. last — finally
  23. row — a line
  24. last — to go on

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