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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  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 list
  2. dip — to sink
  3. kid — to tease
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. last — finally
  6. track — a path
  7. roll — a cake
  8. hand — in cards
  9. last — to go on
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. date — the fruit
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. hand — help
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. track — to keep track
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. branch — a division
  22. last — final
  23. track — a song
  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