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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 116 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. prune — to trim
  3. content — the amount
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. tear — to rip
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. present — there
  9. prune — to trim
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. present — a gift
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — size or range
  18. content — happy
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. present — the time now
  21. ball — a great time
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. mouse — for a computer

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