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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. content — the amount
  3. ground — the earth
  4. kid — child
  5. shower — to wash
  6. content — happy
  7. club — for dancing
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. mate — a partner
  10. club — for golf
  11. net — for catching
  12. club — a group
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. net — in sport
  16. mate — a friend
  17. ground — crushed
  18. mate — to breed
  19. net — after costs
  20. shower — rain
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. kid — to tease
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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