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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. cell — in biology
  3. club — for golf
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bat — the animal
  6. court — of law
  7. club — a group
  8. cell — a phone
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. dip — to sink
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. court — of a king
  15. mine — for digging
  16. court — for sport
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. club — for dancing
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. fork — in a road
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. mine — belonging to me

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