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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: foot · cold · craft · mug · content · wound · kick · pound

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. foot — a measure
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. content — happy
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. cold — an illness
  8. content — the amount
  9. mug — to rob
  10. kick — in football
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. craft — boats
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. craft — a skill
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mug — a face
  18. wound — an injury
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. mug — a cup
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. wound — an injury

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