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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. present — the time now
  4. present — a gift
  5. ground — a position
  6. scale — size or range
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. drill — army training
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. drill — the tool
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. lie — to recline
  13. scale — in music
  14. ground — crushed
  15. content — the amount
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. present — there
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — to crush
  23. drill — a practice
  24. ground — the earth

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