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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. sharp — clever
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. ground — the earth
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wake — a trail
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. ground — crushed
  17. content — the amount
  18. squash — the sport
  19. cell — in biology
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. squash — to crush
  22. ground — a position
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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