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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 120 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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. rock — music
  3. suit — to fit
  4. ball — a dance
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. saw — the tool
  8. suit — in cards
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. content — the amount
  13. cold — an illness
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. drill — army training
  18. ball — a great time
  19. rock — a stone
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. content — happy
  22. drill — a practice
  23. cell — a phone
  24. drill — the tool

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