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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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. foot — a measure
  3. scale — in music
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. last — final
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. content — the amount
  8. scale — size or range
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in biology
  14. charge — electricity
  15. charge — a price
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. spring — of water
  18. last — finally
  19. spring — a coil
  20. content — happy
  21. spring — the season
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. charge — in control
  24. cell — in a prison

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