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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 116 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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. ball — a dance
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — of ice
  9. field — a subject
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. kid — child
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bass — the fish
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. shower — rain
  19. cap — a lid
  20. content — happy
  21. bass — low music
  22. ball — a great time
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. content — the amount

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