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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.

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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. content — the amount
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. march — the month
  5. craft — a skill
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. content — happy
  8. foot — a measure
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. snap — to click
  13. march — music
  14. press — newspapers
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. wound — an injury
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. wound — an injury
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. march — the month
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — to push
  24. craft — boats

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