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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 116 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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. shower — rain
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. cell — in biology
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. dip — to sink
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chip — for betting
  14. rash — hasty
  15. race — the arms race
  16. shower — to wash
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — a contest
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. rash — a series
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in a prison

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