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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spell — a short time
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. squash — to crush
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. object — a thing
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. object — to protest
  10. squash — the sport
  11. clip — a video
  12. spell — letters
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. spell — magic
  15. content — the amount
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to sink
  18. content — happy
  19. object — an aim
  20. spring — the season
  21. clip — to cut
  22. spring — a coil
  23. clip — for paper
  24. squash — the vegetable

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