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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. object — a thing
  3. root — of a plant
  4. object — an aim
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — happy
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. object — to protest
  10. capital — a city
  11. march — the month
  12. mine — for digging
  13. root — of a word
  14. dip — to sink
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. root — the cause
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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