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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. fall — to drop
  3. roll — a cake
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — of law
  6. fall — to drop
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. fall — the season
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. content — happy
  11. roll — a list
  12. can — a tin
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — the amount
  15. court — for sport
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. can — a tin
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. can — to be able to
  23. dip — to sink
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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