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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. dip — to sink
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. cap — of ice
  8. swing — in golf
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. cap — a lid
  12. land — to come down
  13. cap — a hat
  14. land — a country
  15. firm — steady
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. firm — decided
  18. firm — a company
  19. swing — music
  20. fork — in a road
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. wound — an injury
  24. swing — to play on

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