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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: pit · clip · calf · sharp · date · content · land · dip

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. content — the amount
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. clip — a video
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. sharp — clever
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. clip — to cut
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. clip — for paper
  15. land — a country
  16. date — the fruit
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. land — to come down
  19. pit — in a race
  20. land — ground
  21. dip — to sink
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — happy

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