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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rock — music
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. club — a group
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. object — an aim
  12. club — for golf
  13. object — to protest
  14. object — a thing
  15. rock — a stone
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. tube — a container
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. content — the amount
  21. pound — a weight
  22. tube — the underground
  23. pitch — completely
  24. club — for dancing

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