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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 120 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. last — finally
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. content — happy
  7. foot — a measure
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. row — to paddle
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. row — a line
  12. last — final
  13. mine — for digging
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. content — the amount
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. last — to go on
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. ball — a great time
  21. sharp — clever
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. ball — a dance
  24. hide — to keep secret

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