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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. court — for sport
  4. mug — to rob
  5. pop — music
  6. court — of law
  7. dip — to sink
  8. bat — the animal
  9. file — a line of people
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. tube — the underground
  14. court — of a king
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. mug — a cup
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. file — a tool
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. tube — a container
  22. file — a document
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. mug — a face

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