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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. mine — for digging
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. chest — of your body
  5. face — to confront
  6. court — of a king
  7. tube — a container
  8. court — of law
  9. shower — rain
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. face — part of the head
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. tube — the underground
  15. dip — to sink
  16. shower — to wash
  17. chest — of your body
  18. face — to point toward
  19. court — for sport
  20. fine — high quality
  21. fine — all right
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. tube — in a tire

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