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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. hand — in cards
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. spell — magic
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. spell — a short time
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. object — a thing
  12. hand — help
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a hat
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. object — to protest
  17. object — an aim
  18. ball — a dance
  19. spell — letters
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cap — a lid
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. content — the amount
  24. ball — a great time

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