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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 120 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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. wake — a trail
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. spring — the season
  5. clip — for paper
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. dip — to sink
  8. clip — a video
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. spring — a coil
  11. content — the amount
  12. spring — of water
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. lie — to recline
  18. content — happy
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. kick — in football
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. clip — to cut
  24. wake — before a funeral

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