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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — to sink
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. snap — to click
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. row — to paddle
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. capital — a city
  13. press — to push
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — money
  16. field — for sport
  17. content — the amount
  18. row — a line
  19. press — newspapers
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. press — a publisher
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. content — happy

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