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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. field — for sport
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bulb — for light
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. hand — in cards
  12. mine — for digging
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. hand — help
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bulb — for light
  24. dip — a sauce

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