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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. pop — music
  5. content — the amount
  6. bear — the animal
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bear — the animal
  11. pop — to visit
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. can — to be able to
  14. last — finally
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — of the year
  17. can — a tin
  18. pop — soda
  19. ground — the earth
  20. content — happy
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. can — a tin
  23. season — in sport
  24. last — to go on

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