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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rock — a stone
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. roll — a cake
  6. file — a tool
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. file — a document
  11. row — a line
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. content — the amount
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. rock — music
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. row — to paddle
  19. lie — to recline
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. roll — a list
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. rock — to move gently

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