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

Word bank: bear · craft · dip · content · mark · perch · cold · fan

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. mark — a trace
  3. bear — the animal
  4. cold — an illness
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. craft — a skill
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. perch — the fish
  9. cold — not warm
  10. dip — to sink
  11. mark — a grade
  12. content — happy
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. bear — the animal
  21. content — the amount
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. craft — boats

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