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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  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. land — to come down
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. content — happy
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. cap — a lid
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wake — a trail
  10. row — a line
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. cap — a hat
  14. land — a country
  15. pound — a weight
  16. row — to paddle
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. cap — of ice
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. land — ground
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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