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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: content · dip · wound · tear · rule · pound · chest · row

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rule — government
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pound — a weight
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wound — an injury
  8. row — to paddle
  9. chest — of your body
  10. tear — to rip
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. tear — from crying
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. dip — to sink
  16. rule — a law
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. content — happy
  19. row — a line
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  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