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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. squash — the sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fine — all right
  9. current — happening now
  10. squash — to crush
  11. snap — to click
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mate — to breed
  14. fine — high quality
  15. current — electric
  16. mate — a friend
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. current — of water
  20. mate — a partner
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. tear — to rip
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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