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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. ground — the earth
  3. court — for sport
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. spell — letters
  6. ground — crushed
  7. court — of a king
  8. can — a tin
  9. ground — a position
  10. bass — low music
  11. dip — to sink
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. spell — magic
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. bass — the fish
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. can — a tin
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. can — to be able to
  21. spell — a short time
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. court — of law
  24. chest — of your body

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