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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. swing — music
  5. rule — a law
  6. mine — for digging
  7. craft — boats
  8. bore — to tire
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. lean — thin
  13. lean — to bend
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. swing — to play on
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. swing — in golf
  18. hand — in cards
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. bore — to drill
  21. rule — government
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. craft — a skill
  24. lean — to rest against

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