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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. pound — a weight
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. squash — to crush
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cell — a phone
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. cell — in biology
  12. squash — the sport
  13. land — ground
  14. charge — electricity
  15. charge — a price
  16. land — a country
  17. wind — moving air
  18. charge — in control
  19. wind — moving air
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — happy
  24. straw — dry grass

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