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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. fine — high quality
  3. present — there
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. present — the time now
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. fine — all right
  11. content — the amount
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. last — final
  14. present — a gift
  15. drill — the tool
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. last — finally
  18. drill — a practice
  19. shower — rain
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. last — to go on
  23. drill — army training
  24. content — happy

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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