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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 116 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: ground · content · object · snap · pound · spell · game · rest

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pound — a weight
  4. ground — the earth
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. ground — crushed
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. object — to protest
  11. rest — a break
  12. ground — a position
  13. game — a match
  14. rest — what's left
  15. object — an aim
  16. object — a thing
  17. snap — to click
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. game — wild animals
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — a short time
  23. rest — what's left
  24. content — videos and posts

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