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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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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: wound · mate · row · hand · pop · foot · mug · content

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  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. wound — an injury
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mug — to rob
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mug — a cup
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. row — a line
  12. content — the amount
  13. pop — soda
  14. pop — to visit
  15. mate — a friend
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. content — happy
  18. wound — an injury
  19. hand — help
  20. pop — music
  21. row — to paddle
  22. foot — a measure
  23. mug — a face
  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