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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. spell — magic
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — for digging
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. chip — to eat
  11. spell — letters
  12. dip — to sink
  13. fork — in a road
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. spell — a short time
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bass — low music
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — for betting
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — the instrument

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