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

Word bank: cold · ruler · fork · net · pound · content

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. fork — in a road
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. net — for catching
  9. cold — an illness
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. content — the amount
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. content — happy
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. cold — not warm

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