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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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. rush — hurry
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. fork — in a road
  6. last — finally
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. object — a thing
  11. object — an aim
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. content — the amount
  17. object — to protest
  18. wound — an injury
  19. last — to go on
  20. dip — to sink
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. last — final
  23. wound — an injury
  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