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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: swing · content · cell · present · game · pound

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. content — the amount
  4. cell — in biology
  5. present — the time now
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. present — there
  8. cell — a phone
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — to play on
  11. game — a match
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pound — a weight
  15. content — happy
  16. present — a gift
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. game — wild animals

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