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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. land — ground
  4. tube — a container
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. bat — the animal
  8. tube — the underground
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. drill — the tool
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. drill — army training
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. land — to come down
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. chair — a leader
  21. drill — a practice
  22. capital — money
  23. land — a country
  24. chair — to sit on

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