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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  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 — a sauce
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. dip — to sink
  4. field — for sport
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. bank — for money
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. snap — to click
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. swing — in golf
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bank — of a river
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. swing — to play on
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bank — for money
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. wind — moving air
  23. swing — music
  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