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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 116 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. march — the month
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. content — the amount
  5. spell — a short time
  6. drill — a practice
  7. march — music
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. drill — the tool
  10. march — the month
  11. drill — army training
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. saw — the tool
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. firm — steady
  16. saw — the tool
  17. firm — decided
  18. spell — magic
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. firm — a company
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. spell — letters
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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