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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. drill — army training
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. shower — rain
  12. chest — a box
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. date — the fruit
  16. shower — to wash
  17. drill — a practice
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. dip — to sink
  20. drill — the tool
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. game — a match

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