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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. content — happy
  4. land — a country
  5. mine — for digging
  6. chest — a box
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. current — happening now
  12. current — of water
  13. content — the amount
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. present — the time now
  16. land — ground
  17. present — there
  18. current — electric
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. chest — of your body
  23. land — to come down
  24. date — the fruit

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