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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — a tin
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. net — for catching
  6. land — to come down
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. squash — to crush
  11. can — to be able to
  12. content — happy
  13. cold — an illness
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — the amount
  16. land — ground
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — after costs
  19. ball — a great time
  20. land — a country
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. bay — a part of the sea

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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