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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. squash — to crush
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wound — an injury
  13. face — to confront
  14. rest — what's left
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wound — an injury
  17. face — part of the head
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — the sport
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — a break

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