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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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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: cap · hand · content · stand · wound · land · rest · pound

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  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. stand — to bear
  2. wound — an injury
  3. content — the amount
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — of ice
  6. pound — a weight
  7. hand — help
  8. land — a country
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. wound — an injury
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. rest — what's left
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. land — ground
  16. hand — in cards
  17. rest — a break
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. land — to come down
  20. rest — what's left
  21. content — happy
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. cap — a lid
  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