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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. spring — the season
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. spring — a coil
  5. content — happy
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. content — the amount
  8. present — a gift
  9. prune — to trim
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. spring — of water
  12. prune — to trim
  13. present — there
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. present — the time now
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. prune — the fruit

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