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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. file — a tool
  3. pitch — completely
  4. squash — the sport
  5. dip — to sink
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. ground — the earth
  8. squash — to crush
  9. scale — size or range
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bound — tied together
  12. ground — crushed
  13. shower — to wash
  14. scale — in music
  15. bound — certain
  16. file — a line of people
  17. shower — rain
  18. ground — a position
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. file — a document
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bound — obliged
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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