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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 120 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: temple · kid · clip · rush · content · dip · ruler · wake

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. rush — hurry
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. dip — to sink
  5. clip — to cut
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. wake — a trail
  15. kid — to tease
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. content — happy
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. clip — a video
  21. kid — child
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. clip — for paper
  24. ruler — for measuring

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