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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. lean — thin
  5. content — happy
  6. lean — to bend
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. ground — the earth
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. ground — a position
  14. content — the amount
  15. bore — to tire
  16. ground — crushed
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bore — to drill
  24. jam — in traffic

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