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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: dip · shower · kid · pitch · last · content · firm · lean

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. shower — to wash
  4. kid — to tease
  5. last — to go on
  6. firm — a company
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lean — thin
  9. content — happy
  10. dip — to sink
  11. last — finally
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. last — final
  14. content — the amount
  15. lean — to bend
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. kid — child
  18. firm — steady
  19. shower — rain
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. firm — decided
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sports field

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