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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  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. content — happy
  2. fine — all right
  3. ground — a position
  4. drill — army training
  5. content — the amount
  6. spell — magic
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. wound — an injury
  9. drill — the tool
  10. spell — letters
  11. drill — a practice
  12. fine — high quality
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — the earth
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. spell — a short time
  23. leaves — of a tree
  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