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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: content · dip · wind · tear · plane · bear · cabinet · track

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. wind — moving air
  4. track — to keep track
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. content — happy
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. wind — moving air
  11. track — a song
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. bear — the animal
  14. dip — to sink
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. track — a path
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — a tool
  19. bear — the animal
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. tear — from crying
  22. content — the amount
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. plane — an aircraft

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