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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. game — a match
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fork — in a road
  7. content — the amount
  8. game — wild animals
  9. swing — to play on
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. last — finally
  12. ball — a dance
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. swing — music
  16. last — to go on
  17. ball — a great time
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. last — final
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. swing — in golf
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. chair — a leader
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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