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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 120 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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. land — ground
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. bear — the animal
  7. land — a country
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. land — to come down
  10. dip — to sink
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. file — a tool
  13. bear — the animal
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. game — a match
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. plane — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. game — wild animals

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