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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. dip — to sink
  3. kid — child
  4. chest — a box
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — in football
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. roll — a cake
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. chest — of your body
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. game — wild animals
  14. mark — a trace
  15. mark — a grade
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. chest — of your body
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. roll — a list
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. kid — to tease

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