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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. fine — all right
  7. file — a tool
  8. rock — music
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — to visit
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. lie — to recline
  13. pop — soda
  14. content — happy
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bat — the animal
  17. file — a document
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. content — the amount
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. file — a line of people
  24. rock — a stone

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