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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 116 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. hand — help
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. capital — money
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. land — to come down
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. chair — a leader
  10. row — to paddle
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. land — a country
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. land — ground
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. game — a match
  17. capital — a city
  18. hand — in cards
  19. game — wild animals
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. row — a line
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. game — a kind of play

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