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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — a trail
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. deal — to handle
  9. bore — to drill
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. mine — for digging
  12. fine — all right
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. season — of the year
  20. degree — from a university
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. degree — an amount
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. season — in sport

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