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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 120 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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. face — part of the head
  3. dip — to sink
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. face — to point toward
  6. tube — the underground
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. kid — to tease
  9. face — to confront
  10. tube — a container
  11. rash — a series
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — the time now
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. mine — for digging
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. present — there
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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