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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. pop — soda
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. craft — boats
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. pop — to visit
  11. file — a tool
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. deal — to handle
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. content — the amount
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. pop — music

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