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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. swing — to play on
  3. ground — a position
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. hand — help
  6. content — happy
  7. content — the amount
  8. pound — a weight
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. track — to keep track
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. swing — in golf
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. track — a song
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. ground — the earth
  23. swing — music
  24. track — a path

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