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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. sharp — clever
  5. content — happy
  6. last — final
  7. club — for golf
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. last — finally
  10. last — to go on
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. mate — to breed
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. mate — a friend
  16. club — for dancing
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. content — the amount
  20. club — a group
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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