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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. sharp — clever
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rock — a stone
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. fork — in a road
  10. rock — music
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. fine — all right
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. fine — high quality
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. cell — in biology
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. content — happy
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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