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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wake — a trail
  9. drill — army training
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. cell — in biology
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. wind — moving air
  16. drill — a practice
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. drill — the tool
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wind — moving air
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. fan — a supporter

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