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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 120 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. content — happy
  3. hand — help
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. firm — steady
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. firm — decided
  15. rush — hurry
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. wound — an injury
  18. scale — size or range
  19. hand — in cards
  20. dip — to sink
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. firm — a company
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. scale — in music

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