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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. content — happy
  6. content — the amount
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. present — a gift
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. face — to confront
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. date — the fruit
  13. face — to point toward
  14. spring — a coil
  15. dip — to sink
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. present — there
  19. sharp — clever
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. face — part of the head
  22. kick — in football
  23. spring — of water
  24. present — the time now

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