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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. content — the amount
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. march — the month
  5. firm — steady
  6. firm — a company
  7. mug — a face
  8. net — in sport
  9. march — music
  10. content — happy
  11. hand — help
  12. mug — a cup
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. fine — all right
  15. mug — to rob
  16. shower — to wash
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. hand — in cards
  20. firm — decided
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — for catching
  23. march — the month
  24. shower — rain

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