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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 116 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. dip — to sink
  5. snap — to click
  6. bear — the animal
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. cold — not warm
  12. file — a tool
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bear — the animal
  16. content — the amount
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. file — a document
  20. content — happy
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. calf — a young animal

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