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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. ball — a great time
  4. firm — a company
  5. ball — a dance
  6. craft — boats
  7. firm — steady
  8. cell — a phone
  9. fine — all right
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. cell — in biology
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. firm — decided
  18. craft — a skill
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. content — happy
  21. content — the amount
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. content — videos and posts

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