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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. shower — rain
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. scale — in music
  7. chip — to eat
  8. content — happy
  9. kid — child
  10. shower — to wash
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. scale — size or range
  16. content — the amount
  17. kid — to tease
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chip — for betting
  24. deal — to handle

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