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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. content — the amount
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. land — ground
  5. mate — a partner
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — what's left
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. mate — to breed
  11. rest — a break
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. mate — a friend
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — a gift
  16. land — a country
  17. wound — an injury
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. present — there
  20. sharp — clever
  21. fork — in a road
  22. wound — an injury
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. content — happy

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