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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: clip · fall · pound · squash · ground · ball · content · safe

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. squash — to crush
  3. ground — crushed
  4. content — happy
  5. fall — to drop
  6. ground — the earth
  7. squash — the sport
  8. fall — the season
  9. pound — a weight
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. content — the amount
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. ground — a position
  15. clip — a video
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. ball — a great time
  22. clip — for paper
  23. ball — a dance
  24. clip — to cut

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