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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. bass — low music
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. content — the amount
  5. season — of the year
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. cell — a phone
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bass — the fish
  10. row — a line
  11. season — in sport
  12. stand — to bear
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pound — a weight
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. content — happy
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. cold — an illness

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