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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. content — the amount
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. pop — to visit
  5. content — happy
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. dip — to sink
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — from a university
  10. court — for sport
  11. pop — soda
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. degree — an amount
  14. face — to point toward
  15. court — of a king
  16. face — part of the head
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. wound — an injury
  20. face — to confront
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. court — of law
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pop — music

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