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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. spell — a short time
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — to visit
  5. game — a match
  6. spell — letters
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. pop — music
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. game — wild animals
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. spell — magic
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. dip — to sink
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. arm — part of the body

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