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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 116 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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fine — all right
  3. last — finally
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. last — final
  7. lie — to recline
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. hand — help
  10. kid — to tease
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. last — to go on
  15. hand — in cards
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. content — the amount
  18. fine — high quality
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. kid — child
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. lie — an untruth

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