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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. kid — child
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. chest — of your body
  6. fork — in a road
  7. spell — letters
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. dip — to sink
  12. rock — music
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — a phone
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. kid — to tease
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. spell — a short time
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. spell — magic
  23. rock — a stone
  24. rock — to move gently

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