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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. chest — a box
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. field — for sport
  6. squash — the sport
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. field — a subject
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. field — farmland
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. present — the time now
  14. firm — a company
  15. present — there
  16. bat — the animal
  17. chest — of your body
  18. squash — to crush
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. firm — steady
  22. chest — of your body
  23. present — a gift
  24. firm — decided

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