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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. firm — decided
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. last — final
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. last — to go on
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. firm — steady
  11. firm — a company
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. lie — to recline
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. content — happy
  17. pop — soda
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. last — finally
  20. pop — music
  21. wake — a trail
  22. content — the amount
  23. pop — to visit
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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