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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: kick · wake · bound · pound · face · content · object · scale

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. content — the amount
  3. pound — a weight
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. object — an aim
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. content — happy
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. wake — a trail
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to confront
  16. object — a thing
  17. face — to point toward
  18. bound — obliged
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. scale — size or range
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — tied together
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. scale — in music

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