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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. game — wild animals
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. content — the amount
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. mark — a grade
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — a lid
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mark — a trace
  16. squash — to crush
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. game — a match
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. dip — to sink
  22. content — happy
  23. cap — of ice
  24. sharp — clever

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