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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. can — a tin
  3. content — the amount
  4. ground — a position
  5. can — to be able to
  6. dip — to sink
  7. cell — in biology
  8. clip — a video
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. lie — to recline
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. can — a tin
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. clip — to cut
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. cell — a phone
  18. ground — the earth
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. ground — crushed
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. clip — for paper

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