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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 120 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. land — to come down
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. pound — a weight
  12. court — for sport
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. wound — an injury
  16. court — of law
  17. land — ground
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. land — a country
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. plane — a tool
  22. court — of a king
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. wound — an injury

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