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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. roll — a cake
  4. track — a path
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. file — a tool
  7. pound — a weight
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. kick — in football
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. track — a song
  16. land — ground
  17. land — to come down
  18. roll — a list
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. file — a document
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. track — to keep track
  23. land — a country
  24. file — a line of people

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