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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: pound · dip · wake · land · arm · temple · content · fall

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. fall — the season
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. land — a country
  7. wake — a trail
  8. content — the amount
  9. pound — a weight
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. land — ground
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. land — to come down
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. content — happy
  22. fall — to drop
  23. dip — to sink
  24. content — videos and posts

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