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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  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. hand — part of the body
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. tear — to rip
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. content — the amount
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. chair — a leader
  11. hand — in cards
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. saw — the tool
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. hand — help
  17. tear — from crying
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. row — a line
  20. row — to paddle
  21. tear — from crying
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bay — a horse colour
  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