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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: wound · fall · bat · tear · key · content · pound · firm

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. pound — a weight
  5. tear — from crying
  6. key — in music
  7. tear — from crying
  8. firm — decided
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. fall — the season
  13. firm — steady
  14. key — for a lock
  15. wound — an injury
  16. content — happy
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. tear — to rip
  20. fall — to drop
  21. firm — a company
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. key — the most important part
  24. bat — for baseball

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