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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.

Make a worksheet

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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — happy
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. rush — hurry
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. kid — child
  7. content — the amount
  8. wind — moving air
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. kid — to tease
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. wind — moving air
  18. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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