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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. field — a subject
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. field — farmland
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. hand — in cards
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. bear — the animal
  12. hand — help
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — a tin
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. dip — to sink
  18. field — for sport

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