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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. hand — in cards
  3. row — a line
  4. staff — employees
  5. hand — help
  6. pop — to visit
  7. staff — a stick
  8. lean — thin
  9. swing — in golf
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pop — soda
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. swing — music
  14. swing — to play on
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. staff — employees
  18. dip — to sink
  19. row — to paddle
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. lean — to bend
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. pop — music
  24. plane — a tool

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