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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: tube · ground · wind · content · pound · bound · spell · row

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. ground — a position
  3. spell — magic
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. tube — the underground
  8. ground — the earth
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spell — letters
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — a container
  14. row — to paddle
  15. spell — a short time
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bound — certain
  18. bound — obliged
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bound — tied together
  21. content — happy
  22. content — the amount
  23. row — a line
  24. ground — crushed

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