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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. rash — hasty
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — happy
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. chip — for betting
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bark — to shout
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bear — the animal
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. squash — the sport
  21. dip — to sink
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. rash — a series
  24. chip — to eat

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