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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 120 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: content · cell · straw · bay · tube · scale · pound · land

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. content — the amount
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. land — ground
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. tube — the underground
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. content — happy
  11. scale — in music
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. scale — size or range
  14. land — a country
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — a weight
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. land — to come down
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. tube — a container
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in biology

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