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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: mate · hand · dip · land · jam · swing · content · kick

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. content — the amount
  5. land — a country
  6. dip — to sink
  7. mate — a friend
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. land — to come down
  10. kick — in football
  11. mate — a partner
  12. hand — in cards
  13. swing — music
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. hand — help
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. swing — to play on
  20. swing — in golf
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. mate — to breed
  23. content — happy
  24. land — ground

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