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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. chip — to eat
  5. track — to keep track
  6. content — the amount
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. dip — to sink
  14. content — happy
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. track — a path
  17. spell — magic
  18. mate — a partner
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. track — a song
  21. mate — to breed
  22. spell — a short time
  23. chip — for betting
  24. mine — for digging

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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