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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. land — ground
  4. content — happy
  5. track — to keep track
  6. land — a country
  7. chest — a box
  8. track — a song
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. cue — a signal
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. track — a path
  14. lean — thin
  15. content — the amount
  16. cue — for pool
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. cue — a hint
  19. lean — to bend
  20. chest — of your body
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. land — to come down
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. chest — of your body

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