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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. present — a gift
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — in a road
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. scale — size or range
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. squash — to crush
  11. content — happy
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fine — all right
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. fine — high quality
  18. kid — child
  19. scale — in music
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. cold — an illness
  22. squash — the sport
  23. content — the amount
  24. present — there

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