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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. kid — child
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. shower — rain
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — to cut
  8. mate — a friend
  9. pop — music
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — hurry
  12. pop — to visit
  13. mate — to breed
  14. pop — soda
  15. content — happy
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. mate — a partner
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. dip — to sink
  22. content — the amount
  23. kid — to tease
  24. shower — to wash

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