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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. object — an aim
  3. content — happy
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. object — a thing
  6. kid — to tease
  7. content — the amount
  8. wound — an injury
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. tear — from crying
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. craft — boats
  13. dip — to sink
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. tear — from crying
  16. last — final
  17. object — to protest
  18. last — to go on
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. wound — an injury
  21. craft — a skill
  22. tear — to rip
  23. kid — child
  24. dip — to dunk

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