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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. net — in sport
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. bass — the fish
  8. rush — hurry
  9. bass — low music
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. net — for catching
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. march — the month
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — the fruit
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. net — after costs
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. dip — to sink
  24. hand — part of the body

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