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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. pop — to visit
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. content — the amount
  8. dip — to sink
  9. last — to go on
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — soda
  13. spell — letters
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. content — happy
  16. pitch — completely
  17. last — final
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. last — finally
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — magic

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