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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. face — part of the head
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. spell — magic
  6. ball — a great time
  7. spell — a short time
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. face — to point toward
  11. spell — letters
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. rash — hasty
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rash — a series
  17. ball — a dance
  18. mine — for digging
  19. wound — an injury
  20. face — to confront
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. trunk — of a tree

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