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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: content · cell · hand · dip · court · pound

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. hand — help
  6. dip — to sink
  7. cell — in biology
  8. court — for sport
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. pound — a weight
  12. court — of a king
  13. content — the amount
  14. cell — a phone
  15. hand — in cards
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. content — happy
  18. court — of law

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