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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: pass · fall · content · pound · spring · ground · hand · perch

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. content — happy
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. content — the amount
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. spring — a coil
  8. hand — help
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pound — a weight
  12. ground — a position
  13. hand — in cards
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — the earth
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. spring — the season
  19. pass — a permit
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. spring — of water
  23. perch — the fish
  24. content — videos and posts

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