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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: pound · nail · kick · squash · content · hand · scale · perch

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. scale — size or range
  3. hand — help
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. kick — in football
  6. squash — to crush
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. scale — in music
  9. perch — the fish
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. hand — in cards
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. content — happy
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. squash — the sport
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. content — the amount
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. perch — for a bird

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