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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: spell · march · pass · can · pound · cold · bore · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. march — music
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pass — a permit
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. cold — not warm
  9. march — the month
  10. can — a tin
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. can — a tin
  14. spell — letters
  15. bore — to drill
  16. march — the month
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. content — the amount
  20. spell — magic
  21. bore — to tire
  22. pound — a weight
  23. spell — a short time
  24. can — to be able to

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