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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. object — a thing
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. land — to come down
  6. present — there
  7. object — to protest
  8. cold — not warm
  9. present — a gift
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. bear — the animal
  12. object — an aim
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mark — a trace
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. land — ground
  18. present — the time now
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wound — an injury
  21. land — a country
  22. mark — a grade
  23. bear — the animal
  24. content — happy

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