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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. land — to come down
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. land — a country
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. swing — music
  8. cold — an illness
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. swing — in golf
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. roll — a cake
  15. dip — to sink
  16. swing — to play on
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. land — ground
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. cold — not warm
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. fork — in a road
  24. mouse — the animal

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