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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. mug — a cup
  3. ground — a position
  4. mug — a face
  5. net — after costs
  6. dip — to sink
  7. ground — crushed
  8. net — in sport
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. face — part of the head
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. face — to confront
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. mug — to rob
  15. chip — for betting
  16. ball — a great time
  17. face — to point toward
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. shower — to wash
  20. ball — a dance
  21. shower — rain
  22. chip — to eat
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. ground — the earth

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