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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. fall — the season
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. face — part of the head
  9. snap — to click
  10. face — to confront
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. cell — a phone
  13. capital — money
  14. fall — to drop
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. face — to point toward
  18. capital — a city
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bat — the animal
  24. fall — to drop

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