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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. cell — a phone
  3. dip — to sink
  4. ball — a dance
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. cell — in biology
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. mark — a trace
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. capital — a city
  13. mark — a grade
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. club — a group
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. club — for dancing
  19. capital — money
  20. ball — a great time
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bat — the animal
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. club — for golf

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