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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. content — the amount
  8. shower — rain
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. last — final
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. land — a country
  16. last — finally
  17. shower — to wash
  18. last — to go on
  19. kid — to tease
  20. content — happy
  21. fine — all right
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. fine — high quality
  24. fine — a penalty

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