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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. dip — to sink
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. drill — a practice
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mug — to rob
  10. hand — help
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. hand — in cards
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. game — a match
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. mug — a face
  19. drill — the tool
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. drill — army training
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. mug — a cup
  24. game — wild animals

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