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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bat — the animal
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — in cards
  8. board — to get on
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. last — finally
  11. last — final
  12. chair — a leader
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. stem — to come from
  15. dip — to sink
  16. board — a committee
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. cap — a hat
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. cap — of ice
  21. last — to go on
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. stem — of a plant

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