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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. pop — to visit
  5. wind — moving air
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pit — a hole
  8. club — a group
  9. pop — soda
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. degree — from a university
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pop — music
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. degree — an amount
  16. club — for dancing
  17. dip — to sink
  18. degree — temperature
  19. wind — moving air
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. club — for golf
  22. vault — a safe
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. chest — a box

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