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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: toast · wound · pound · deal · jam · saw · tube · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. saw — the tool
  3. wound — an injury
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. pound — a weight
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. tube — a container
  13. toast — bread
  14. tube — the underground
  15. content — the amount
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. saw — the tool
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. deal — to handle
  24. tube — in a tire

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