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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 120 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. land — ground
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. hand — in cards
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. dip — to sink
  10. hand — help
  11. swing — in golf
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. land — to come down
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. swing — music
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. swing — to play on
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. land — a country
  20. content — happy
  21. bulb — for light
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. content — the amount
  24. bulb — for light

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