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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. spell — letters
  3. last — finally
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. dip — to sink
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. content — the amount
  9. spell — magic
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. spell — a short time
  12. squash — to crush
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — to wash
  15. last — to go on
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. last — final
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. wind — moving air
  20. content — happy
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. wind — moving air
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — the sport

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