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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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. scale — in music
  8. ground — crushed
  9. firm — steady
  10. firm — decided
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. ground — the earth
  16. date — the fruit
  17. bark — to shout
  18. ground — a position
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. dip — to sink
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. firm — a company

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