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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. lie — to recline
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. squash — to crush
  12. kid — child
  13. cell — a phone
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. kid — to tease
  18. cell — in biology
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. dip — to sink
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bat — the animal
  24. coach — a trainer

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