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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 116 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: ball · squash · content · present · wake · pound · field · lash

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. field — farmland
  6. content — happy
  7. ball — a great time
  8. content — the amount
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. ball — a dance
  11. pound — a weight
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — a gift
  14. wake — a trail
  15. field — a subject
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. squash — to crush
  18. squash — the sport
  19. present — there
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. field — for sport
  24. lash — to lash out

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