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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  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. fine — all right
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — child
  6. content — happy
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — for digging
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the sport
  11. content — the amount
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. lean — thin
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. fine — high quality
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. lean — to bend
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — rain
  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