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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. bass — the fish
  4. content — happy
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. drill — army training
  7. foot — a measure
  8. drill — the tool
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. last — final
  12. hand — in cards
  13. ground — crushed
  14. lean — thin
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. last — to go on
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. drill — a practice
  19. ground — the earth
  20. content — the amount
  21. bass — low music
  22. ground — a position
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. hand — help

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