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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: sharp · toast · content · spring · rush · date · perch · clip

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. date — the fruit
  9. spring — a coil
  10. clip — for paper
  11. spring — of water
  12. sharp — clever
  13. toast — bread
  14. content — the amount
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. clip — a video
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. spring — the season
  22. clip — to cut
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. content — happy

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