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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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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. spring — of water
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. squash — the sport
  12. shower — to wash
  13. spring — the season
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. spring — a coil
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. shower — rain
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. squash — to crush
  24. dip — to sink

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