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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. last — to go on
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — the amount
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bore — to drill
  9. wind — moving air
  10. last — final
  11. dip — to sink
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bore — to tire
  14. content — happy
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. last — finally
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cabinet — ministers

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