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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. cell — in biology
  3. land — a country
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. row — a line
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bat — the animal
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. dip — to sink
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. land — ground
  17. bore — to tire
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. land — to come down
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. mark — a grade
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bore — gave birth

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