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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 · spell · cabinet · pound · content · ground · press · stick

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. press — a publisher
  3. content — happy
  4. spell — letters
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. ground — the earth
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. press — newspapers
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. press — to push
  14. pound — a weight
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. ground — crushed
  18. spell — magic
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. ground — a position
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. cold — not warm
  24. spell — a short time

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