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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 120 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. firm — decided
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. firm — steady
  10. stand — to bear
  11. pound — a weight
  12. face — to point toward
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. cold — not warm
  17. content — happy
  18. face — to confront
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. face — part of the head
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. firm — a company
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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