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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: perch · ground · bound · hand · rest · content · pound · lean

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. bound — certain
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. hand — help
  5. content — happy
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bound — obliged
  8. ground — crushed
  9. content — the amount
  10. rest — what's left
  11. pound — a weight
  12. bound — tied together
  13. lean — thin
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. ground — the earth
  18. lean — to bend
  19. perch — the fish
  20. ground — a position
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. rest — what's left
  24. perch — for a bird

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