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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. game — a match
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bear — the animal
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. ground — a position
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — the season
  9. kid — to tease
  10. swing — in golf
  11. bear — the animal
  12. game — wild animals
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. swing — to play on
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. content — happy
  17. kid — child
  18. swing — music
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. ground — the earth
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. dip — to sink
  24. fall — to drop

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