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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 124 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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. pop — music
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. swing — music
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. kid — to tease
  8. ball — a dance
  9. degree — temperature
  10. kid — child
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. pop — to visit
  14. swing — to play on
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bear — the animal
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. degree — from a university
  20. ball — a great time
  21. pop — soda
  22. degree — an amount
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bear — the animal

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