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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. bass — low music
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. field — a subject
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. field — farmland
  11. bass — the fish
  12. ball — a great time
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. ball — a dance
  16. field — for sport
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bass — the instrument

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