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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. net — in sport
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — hasty
  6. pit — a hole
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. pit — in a race
  9. tear — from crying
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. tear — to rip
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — after costs
  21. kick — in football
  22. content — happy
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. dip — to sink

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