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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. scale — size or range
  3. game — wild animals
  4. face — part of the head
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. degree — from a university
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. degree — temperature
  9. face — to point toward
  10. kid — child
  11. game — a match
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. scale — in music
  17. kid — to tease
  18. degree — an amount
  19. face — to confront
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. fork — in a road
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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