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

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. mate — a partner
  3. squash — to crush
  4. cold — not warm
  5. squash — the sport
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cold — an illness
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. mate — a friend
  20. content — the amount
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. mate — to breed

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