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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 120 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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cap — of ice
  3. shower — rain
  4. face — to point toward
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. swing — to play on
  7. cap — a hat
  8. swing — in golf
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. swing — music
  11. dip — to sink
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. mine — for digging
  17. tube — a container
  18. face — to confront
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cap — a lid
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. shower — to wash
  24. face — part of the head

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