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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. content — happy
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. fine — high quality
  7. shower — rain
  8. cell — a phone
  9. fine — all right
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. lie — to recline
  12. cell — in biology
  13. shower — to wash
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. scale — size or range
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — videos and posts

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