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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. object — a thing
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. object — to protest
  5. object — an aim
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. bore — to tire
  9. spell — letters
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. spell — magic
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. cap — a hat
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. spell — a short time
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. cap — a lid
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. snap — to click
  24. bore — to drill

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