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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. cell — a phone
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. root — the cause
  8. content — the amount
  9. wind — moving air
  10. dip — to sink
  11. content — happy
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. root — of a word
  15. wind — moving air
  16. capital — money
  17. tear — from crying
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. root — of a plant
  20. tear — from crying
  21. capital — a city
  22. cell — in biology
  23. tear — to rip
  24. cell — in a prison

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