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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. object — an aim
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. bound — certain
  6. club — for dancing
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — to point toward
  9. club — for golf
  10. object — to protest
  11. club — a group
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. saw — the tool
  15. shower — rain
  16. dip — to sink
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. face — part of the head
  19. bound — tied together
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. object — a thing
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bound — obliged
  24. saw — the tool

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