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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: cold · scale · arm · bank · lash · pound · content · pop

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. scale — size or range
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bank — of a river
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. pop — music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. pop — soda
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. pound — a weight
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bank — for money
  14. content — happy
  15. scale — in music
  16. bank — for money
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. content — the amount
  19. pop — to visit
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. cold — not warm

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