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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — money
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. deal — to handle
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. snap — to click
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. last — final
  13. last — finally
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. bat — the animal
  16. last — to go on
  17. capital — a city
  18. bat — for baseball

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