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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. face — part of the head
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. deal — to handle
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. rule — a law
  14. rule — government
  15. face — to confront
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. plane — a tool
  19. dip — to sink
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. bat — the animal
  24. face — to point toward

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