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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. game — wild animals
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. bound — tied together
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. mug — a face
  7. mug — a cup
  8. craft — a skill
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — boats
  11. bound — certain
  12. clip — a video
  13. game — a match
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. mug — to rob
  17. pitch — completely
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bound — obliged
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — before a funeral

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