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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 120 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. craft — boats
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. dip — to sink
  9. cell — in biology
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. content — happy
  12. cell — a phone
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. capital — money
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. capital — a city
  18. wound — an injury
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. craft — a skill
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. wake — a trail

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