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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bass — the fish
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. cap — a hat
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. content — the amount
  11. toast — bread
  12. bass — low music
  13. dip — to sink
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. rush — hurry
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — of ice
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. kid — to tease

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