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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. capital — money
  6. content — the amount
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. content — happy
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ground — the earth
  12. rash — a series
  13. staff — employees
  14. shower — rain
  15. staff — employees
  16. shower — to wash
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. ground — a position
  19. ball — a dance
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. capital — a city
  22. ball — a great time
  23. ground — crushed
  24. content — videos and posts

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