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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. craft — a skill
  4. pop — soda
  5. game — a match
  6. content — happy
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. pop — music
  9. fine — all right
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — to paddle
  12. craft — boats
  13. pop — to visit
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. game — wild animals
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. mine — for digging
  18. content — the amount
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. deal — to handle
  22. fine — high quality
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. row — a line

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