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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: pit · scale · pound · tear · track · foot · content · snap

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. foot — a measure
  3. track — a path
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. content — happy
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. track — a song
  8. pound — a weight
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. tear — to rip
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. scale — in music
  15. snap — to click
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. content — the amount
  18. track — to keep track
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. scale — size or range
  21. pit — in a race
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. scale — for weighing

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