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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pit — a hole
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. rest — what's left
  7. dip — to sink
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. game — a match
  14. rest — a break
  15. pit — in a race
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. game — wild animals
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. wind — moving air

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