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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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468
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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. dip — to sink
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a ring
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. plane — a tool
  15. shower — rain
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. shower — to wash
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. mine — for digging
  24. snap — to click

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