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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fine — high quality
  3. chest — a box
  4. shower — rain
  5. content — the amount
  6. clip — for paper
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pop — to visit
  10. clip — a video
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. firm — decided
  13. firm — steady
  14. pop — music
  15. pop — soda
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — crushed
  18. shower — to wash
  19. firm — a company
  20. ground — the earth
  21. clip — to cut
  22. chest — of your body
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. fine — all right

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