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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. game — a match
  3. net — for catching
  4. fine — high quality
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. fork — in a road
  7. suit — clothes
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. net — in sport
  10. spell — magic
  11. content — the amount
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. net — after costs
  14. face — to confront
  15. fine — all right
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. face — part of the head
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. game — wild animals
  20. suit — in cards
  21. suit — to fit
  22. face — to point toward
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — a short 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