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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. fine — high quality
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. pop — to visit
  8. object — an aim
  9. pop — music
  10. cold — an illness
  11. object — a thing
  12. content — happy
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. object — to protest
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fine — all right
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pound — a weight
  23. tear — from crying
  24. content — the amount

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