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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pound — a weight
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. stem — to come from
  6. cold — not warm
  7. content — happy
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. content — the amount
  11. mark — a trace
  12. mark — a grade
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — the tool
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. scale — in music
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. scale — size or range
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. stem — of a plant

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