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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. court — for sport
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cold — an illness
  7. dip — to sink
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. court — of a king
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. court — of law
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. current — happening now
  16. cold — not warm
  17. current — of water
  18. current — electric

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