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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 116 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 ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. mark — a trace
  6. current — electric
  7. net — in sport
  8. current — happening now
  9. current — of water
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bat — the animal
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rush — hurry
  16. clip — a video
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. dip — to sink
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — for catching
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. dip — a sauce

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