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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: pound · perch · bulb · fine · mine · chest · content · snap

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pound — a weight
  3. content — the amount
  4. bulb — for light
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bulb — for light
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. fine — high quality
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. chest — of your body
  23. fine — all right
  24. pound — to hit hard

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