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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: track · pound · clip · content · deal · wound · cell · spell

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. track — to keep track
  4. spell — a short time
  5. track — a path
  6. pound — a weight
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. deal — to handle
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. clip — to cut
  13. cell — a phone
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. track — a song
  16. spell — letters
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. clip — for paper
  19. spell — magic
  20. content — happy
  21. clip — a video
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. content — the amount

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