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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 120 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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. content — the amount
  4. wound — an injury
  5. lean — thin
  6. content — happy
  7. rule — government
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. band — a ring
  10. cell — a phone
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. sharp — clever
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. rule — a law
  15. lean — to bend
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. wound — an injury
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. cell — in biology
  24. sharp — exactly

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