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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. row — to paddle
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. row — a line
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. current — electric
  8. drill — army training
  9. dip — to sink
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. content — happy
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. current — happening now
  14. content — the amount
  15. hand — in cards
  16. current — of water
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — a practice
  21. date — the fruit
  22. vault — a safe
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. hand — help

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