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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 116 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. club — for dancing
  4. land — ground
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. tear — to rip
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. club — a group
  9. tear — from crying
  10. spell — letters
  11. kid — child
  12. mug — to rob
  13. land — to come down
  14. club — for golf
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — a short time
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. mug — a face
  19. mug — a cup
  20. content — happy
  21. kid — to tease
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. land — a country

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