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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. degree — an amount
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. swing — in golf
  8. stand — to bear
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. degree — from a university
  11. dip — to sink
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. lean — thin
  14. degree — temperature
  15. swing — music
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. lean — to bend
  21. chip — to eat
  22. swing — to play on
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. stand — on your feet

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