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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. roll — a list
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. kid — to tease
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. row — a line
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. deal — to handle
  16. row — to paddle
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. bat — the animal
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. kid — child

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