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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. last — to go on
  3. lie — to recline
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. content — the amount
  6. file — a document
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. file — a tool
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bass — the fish
  12. file — a line of people
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. last — finally
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. wind — moving air
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. last — final
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bass — low music

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