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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. last — finally
  4. content — happy
  5. spell — a short time
  6. last — final
  7. current — happening now
  8. content — the amount
  9. wound — an injury
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. spell — magic
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. spell — letters
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. last — to go on
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. wound — an injury
  20. current — of water
  21. date — the fruit
  22. current — electric
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. foot — a measure

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