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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. net — in sport
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. rush — hurry
  5. net — for catching
  6. spring — of water
  7. content — the amount
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. court — of a king
  12. mine — for digging
  13. net — after costs
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. spring — the season
  16. court — for sport
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. spring — a coil
  21. fork — in a road
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. court — of law
  24. content — happy

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