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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. fine — high quality
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. rest — what's left
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. deal — to handle
  10. shower — rain
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rest — a break
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. shower — to wash
  17. content — the amount
  18. fine — all right
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. rest — what's left
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bay — a horse colour

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