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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.

Make a worksheet

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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. object — a thing
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. object — an aim
  9. wake — a trail
  10. content — happy
  11. prune — to trim
  12. object — to protest
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. cold — an illness
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. prune — to trim
  17. content — the amount
  18. temple — side of the head

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