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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mate — a partner
  4. toast — bread
  5. last — finally
  6. wound — an injury
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a skill
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. mate — a friend
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. last — final
  15. mate — to breed
  16. last — to go on
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. content — the amount
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. rush — hurry
  21. content — happy
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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