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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. shower — rain
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. bat — the animal
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — a position
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. tear — from crying
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. ground — the earth
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. tear — from crying
  18. plane — a tool
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. tear — to rip

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