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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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Word bank
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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: content · fall · last · bulb · row · bat · pound · foot

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bulb — for light
  4. fall — the season
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. last — final
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. last — to go on
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. content — happy
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. content — the amount
  17. foot — a measure
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a line
  20. last — finally
  21. fall — to drop
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. fall — to drop

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