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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — happy
  3. mug — a face
  4. squash — to crush
  5. content — the amount
  6. dip — to sink
  7. land — ground
  8. mug — to rob
  9. land — to come down
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. last — finally
  12. last — final
  13. land — a country
  14. squash — the sport
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. mug — a cup
  19. last — to go on
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. jam — a tight spot

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