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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 124 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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. dip — to sink
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. mark — a grade
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. spell — letters
  9. mark — a trace
  10. cell — a phone
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cell — in biology
  15. spell — magic
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. wound — an injury
  20. game — a match
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. spell — a short time

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