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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. mark — a grade
  5. shower — rain
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — the amount
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. content — happy
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. shower — to wash
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a ring
  16. stand — to bear
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rash — hasty
  20. dip — to sink
  21. mark — a trace
  22. rash — a series
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. band — a rubber band

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