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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 124 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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. chest — of your body
  5. row — to paddle
  6. plane — a tool
  7. cap — of ice
  8. dip — to sink
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. cap — a lid
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cap — a hat
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. rash — hasty
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. chest — a box
  22. row — a line
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. rash — a series

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