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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. content — happy
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. fall — to drop
  6. chair — a leader
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. date — the fruit
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. charge — a price
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. charge — in control
  18. content — the amount
  19. charge — electricity
  20. fall — to drop
  21. foot — a measure
  22. mine — for digging
  23. fall — the season
  24. mine — an explosive

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