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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. scale — size or range
  3. spell — letters
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. deal — to handle
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. shower — to wash
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. spell — a short time
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. saw — the tool
  16. content — the amount
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. scale — in music
  19. shower — rain
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. spell — magic
  23. pound — a weight
  24. saw — the tool

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