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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.

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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. content — happy
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. hand — in cards
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. rock — music
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. row — a line
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. wound — an injury
  19. row — to paddle
  20. cell — in biology
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. hand — help
  23. content — the amount
  24. deal — to handle

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