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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. bear — the animal
  3. fine — all right
  4. shower — rain
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. shower — to wash
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. cue — for pool
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cue — a signal
  14. scale — in music
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. wind — moving air
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. scale — size or range
  19. net — for catching
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — happy
  22. cue — a hint
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. content — the amount

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