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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 116 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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cap — a lid
  4. bat — the animal
  5. land — a country
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. land — to come down
  10. can — a tin
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. cap — a hat
  14. dip — to sink
  15. can — to be able to
  16. land — ground
  17. cap — of ice
  18. can — a tin

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