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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. dip — to sink
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. hand — in cards
  7. row — a line
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — humankind
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. roll — a list
  13. shower — rain
  14. hand — help
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. row — to paddle
  19. race — the arms race
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. shower — to wash
  24. mine — for digging

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