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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. ground — a position
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. last — final
  6. craft — boats
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. wax — to grow
  12. land — a country
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. content — the amount
  17. craft — a skill
  18. land — to come down
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — crushed
  23. land — ground
  24. craft — a handicraft

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