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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 116 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bass — the fish
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. field — a subject
  6. tube — the underground
  7. game — a match
  8. rock — music
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. game — wild animals
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. tube — a container
  13. bass — low music
  14. field — farmland
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. field — for sport
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. dip — to sink
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. rock — a stone
  24. ruler — a monarch

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