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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. pit — a hole
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. swing — to play on
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. content — the amount
  13. ball — a dance
  14. swing — in golf
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. pit — in a race
  19. wake — a trail
  20. swing — music
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. ball — a great time
  23. lie — to recline
  24. wind — moving air

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