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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  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. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. mark — a grade
  4. roll — a list
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mark — a trace
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. squash — to crush
  11. roll — a cake
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. land — to come down
  14. squash — the sport
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. mate — to breed
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. mate — a partner
  21. land — a country
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. land — ground
  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