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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. chair — a leader
  3. drill — army training
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. dip — to sink
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. shower — to wash
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. drill — the tool
  21. plane — a tool
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. shower — rain
  24. drill — a practice

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