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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. shower — rain
  4. degree — an amount
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. net — for catching
  9. spell — a short time
  10. net — after costs
  11. degree — from a university
  12. spell — letters
  13. foot — a measure
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. degree — temperature
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. shower — to wash
  19. chair — a leader
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. spell — magic
  23. dip — to sink
  24. net — in sport

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