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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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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. row — a line
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — a tin
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — the amount
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. sharp — clever
  13. key — for a lock
  14. date — the fruit
  15. lean — to bend
  16. key — the most important part
  17. squash — the sport
  18. row — to paddle
  19. key — in music
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. lean — thin
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. can — to be able to
  24. squash — to crush

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