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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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468
Word bank
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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. cold — an illness
  3. file — a tool
  4. mark — a grade
  5. spell — letters
  6. file — a document
  7. content — the amount
  8. mark — a trace
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — music
  12. cold — not warm
  13. spell — magic
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. content — happy
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. file — a line of people
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. spell — a short time
  22. swing — in golf
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — a sauce

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