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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. scale — in music
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. bark — to shout
  10. scale — size or range
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. chest — of your body
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. plane — a tool
  18. capital — a city
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — money
  24. plane — an aircraft

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