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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. object — to protest
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. object — an aim
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. bank — for money
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. land — to come down
  12. bank — of a river
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — child
  18. object — a thing
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. date — the fruit
  21. stand — to bear
  22. bank — for money
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. content — the amount

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