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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: shower · rock · content · ground · toast · mine · lie · can

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. shower — to wash
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. content — happy
  7. content — the amount
  8. ground — the earth
  9. can — to be able to
  10. can — a tin
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — to recline
  15. ground — crushed
  16. shower — rain
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rock — music
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. rock — a stone
  21. ground — a position
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. toast — bread

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