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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. net — in sport
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. fork — in a road
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. cell — a phone
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. cell — in biology
  12. net — after costs
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. date — the fruit
  16. pound — a weight
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. dip — to sink
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. net — for catching
  24. leaves — of a tree

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