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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bass — the fish
  5. wind — moving air
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. plane — a tool
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — low music
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. pound — a weight
  18. mark — a trace
  19. foot — a measure
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. content — the amount
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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