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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. row — a line
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. content — the amount
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — to sink
  10. cell — a phone
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. cell — in biology
  13. row — to paddle
  14. hand — in cards
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. hand — help
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. deal — to handle
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. cell — in a prison

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