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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. content — happy
  3. hand — in cards
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. firm — steady
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. content — the amount
  8. kid — to tease
  9. pound — a weight
  10. clip — a video
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. clip — for paper
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. clip — to cut
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. hand — help
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. firm — decided
  23. kid — child
  24. firm — a company

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