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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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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: wound · net · tear · stick · kid · dip · content · present

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. dip — to sink
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. wound — an injury
  5. kid — child
  6. present — a gift
  7. wound — an injury
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. net — for catching
  10. tear — from crying
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. tear — to rip
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. present — there
  17. net — in sport
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — happy
  21. net — after costs
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. kid — to tease
  24. tear — from crying

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