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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: ground · pound · content · cell · spring · stand · wound · bay

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. cell — in biology
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. content — happy
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pound — a weight
  11. content — the amount
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. stand — to bear
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — a position
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cell — a phone
  19. wound — an injury
  20. spring — of water
  21. ground — the earth
  22. spring — the season
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. stand — on your feet

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