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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. content — happy
  5. sharp — clever
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. net — after costs
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. content — the amount
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. net — in sport
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. mark — a grade
  15. file — a line of people
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. file — a document
  18. perch — the fish
  19. mark — a trace
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. file — a tool
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. net — for catching

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