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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — the amount
  4. foot — a measure
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pound — a weight
  14. ball — a great time
  15. degree — from a university
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bark — to shout
  18. content — happy
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. ball — a dance
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. foot — the bottom

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