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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. land — a country
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. land — ground
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — a tin
  11. content — the amount
  12. dip — to sink
  13. content — happy
  14. land — to come down
  15. can — to be able to
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. cold — an illness
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pound — to hit hard

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