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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: cell · kid · pound · content · swing · file

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. swing — in golf
  3. cell — in biology
  4. pound — a weight
  5. file — a line of people
  6. swing — to play on
  7. file — a tool
  8. cell — a phone
  9. kid — child
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. file — a document
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. swing — music
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy

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