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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. hand — in cards
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. field — for sport
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — for a lock
  8. lean — thin
  9. field — farmland
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — to crush
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. key — in music
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. squash — the sport
  18. hand — help
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. fork — in a road
  21. field — a subject
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. lean — to bend
  24. fork — a garden tool

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