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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. wound — an injury
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. net — for catching
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. dip — to sink
  11. row — to paddle
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — letters
  14. row — a line
  15. wound — an injury
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. spell — magic
  18. net — in sport
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. net — after costs

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