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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. key — in music
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. degree — an amount
  6. key — for a lock
  7. degree — temperature
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. key — the most important part
  10. shower — rain
  11. mine — for digging
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. degree — from a university
  16. chair — a leader
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. chip — for betting
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. shower — to wash
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. chip — to eat

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