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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. chest — of your body
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. chest — a box
  7. field — farmland
  8. last — final
  9. game — wild animals
  10. last — to go on
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. field — for sport
  16. perch — the fish
  17. chest — of your body
  18. dip — to sink
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. field — a subject
  21. game — a match
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. last — finally
  24. hide — to keep secret

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