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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. perch — the fish
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. content — the amount
  7. dip — to sink
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ball — a dance
  14. date — the fruit
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. content — happy
  19. wake — a trail
  20. tear — to rip
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. tear — from crying

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