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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 116 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. bass — low music
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. ground — a position
  5. bass — the fish
  6. pit — a hole
  7. dip — to sink
  8. kid — child
  9. rock — a stone
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. kid — to tease
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. ground — the earth
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. ground — crushed
  18. capital — money
  19. rock — music
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. pit — in a race
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. capital — a city

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