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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 116 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 · spring · march · content · mug · sharp · prune · wound

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mug — a face
  5. content — happy
  6. mug — a cup
  7. sharp — clever
  8. dip — to sink
  9. march — the month
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — a coil
  13. content — the amount
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wound — an injury
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. spring — the season
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. mug — to rob
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. march — the month

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