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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: pound · content · swing · squash · sharp · wind · mug · last

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. last — final
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. squash — to crush
  5. wind — moving air
  6. content — happy
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. mug — to rob
  9. sharp — clever
  10. squash — the sport
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — a weight
  13. mug — a face
  14. last — to go on
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. wind — moving air
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — music
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. mug — a cup
  21. swing — in golf
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. last — finally
  24. sharp — exactly

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