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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. season — in sport
  3. rock — music
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. scale — in music
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. shower — to wash
  13. season — of the year
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. scale — size or range
  17. lie — to recline
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. content — the amount
  20. prune — to trim
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. shower — rain
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. rock — a stone

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