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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. field — for sport
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. rash — hasty
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. field — farmland
  14. dip — to sink
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. capital — a city
  17. bark — to shout
  18. field — a subject
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. pound — a weight
  22. rash — a series
  23. capital — money
  24. bark — of a tree

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