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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. dip — to sink
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. prune — to trim
  6. present — the time now
  7. degree — an amount
  8. present — a gift
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. kick — in football
  12. content — the amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. prune — to trim
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. degree — from a university
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. fall — to drop
  22. present — there
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. prune — the fruit

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