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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. pitch — completely
  3. mug — a cup
  4. capital — money
  5. kid — child
  6. cell — in biology
  7. dip — to sink
  8. chest — a box
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. capital — a city
  11. kid — to tease
  12. last — to go on
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. last — final
  16. chest — of your body
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cell — a phone
  21. last — finally
  22. mug — a face
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. mug — to rob

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