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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. present — there
  3. content — happy
  4. present — the time now
  5. last — to go on
  6. season — in sport
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pop — soda
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. present — a gift
  12. content — the amount
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. season — of the year
  15. last — final
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. pop — music
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. last — finally
  22. kick — in football
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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