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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  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. sharp — clever
  2. hand — help
  3. ground — the earth
  4. kid — child
  5. pop — soda
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. hand — in cards
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. content — the amount
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. ground — a position
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. saw — the tool
  17. pop — music
  18. pop — to visit
  19. fork — in a road
  20. kid — to tease
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. ground — crushed
  23. saw — the tool
  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