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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. current — happening now
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. can — to be able to
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. can — a tin
  7. current — electric
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. snap — to click
  10. kid — to tease
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. kid — child
  15. shower — to wash
  16. current — of water
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. can — a tin
  23. dip — to sink
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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