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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pop — soda
  3. land — a country
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. can — to be able to
  6. drill — army training
  7. can — a tin
  8. content — the amount
  9. fine — high quality
  10. land — ground
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. sharp — clever
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. can — a tin
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. fine — all right
  18. drill — a practice
  19. land — to come down
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — to visit
  24. drill — the tool

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