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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. bass — the fish
  3. fall — to drop
  4. land — a country
  5. dip — to sink
  6. spell — magic
  7. land — ground
  8. face — to confront
  9. bass — low music
  10. face — part of the head
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. clip — for paper
  13. fall — the season
  14. spell — letters
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. spell — a short time
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. land — to come down
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. face — to point toward
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. fall — to drop

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