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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. net — for catching
  3. ball — a dance
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. ball — a great time
  6. kid — to tease
  7. clip — for paper
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. present — there
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. net — after costs
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — to sink
  16. net — in sport
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. clip — to cut
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. present — a gift
  23. clip — a video
  24. present — the time now

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