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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. content — the amount
  6. bear — the animal
  7. squash — to crush
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. bear — the animal
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. clip — a video
  14. dip — to sink
  15. content — happy
  16. squash — the sport
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. kick — in football
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. perch — the fish

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