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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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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: mug · kid · tear · cap · bass · jam · content · pound

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. content — the amount
  4. cap — of ice
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. kid — to tease
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. mug — a cup
  11. content — happy
  12. bass — low music
  13. cap — a hat
  14. mug — to rob
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bass — the fish
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mug — a face
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. cap — a lid

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