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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 120 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. capital — a city
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. capital — money
  15. content — happy
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. spring — of water
  19. content — the amount
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. foot — a measure
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. foot — part of the body

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