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

Word bank: tear · content · pound · squash · pop · rest

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. content — the amount
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. rest — a break
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pop — soda
  9. pound — a weight
  10. tear — from crying
  11. content — happy
  12. rest — what's left
  13. squash — the sport
  14. pop — to visit
  15. tear — to rip
  16. rest — what's left
  17. squash — to crush
  18. pop — 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