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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. row — to paddle
  4. ball — a dance
  5. wind — moving air
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. ball — a great time
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. pop — to visit
  12. drill — army training
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. pop — music
  16. dip — to sink
  17. row — a line
  18. pop — soda
  19. march — the month
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. drill — a practice
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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