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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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. ground — a position
  3. hand — help
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. dip — to sink
  9. row — a line
  10. fork — in a road
  11. club — for golf
  12. row — to paddle
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. club — a group
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — in cards
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. ground — crushed
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. ground — the earth
  23. club — for dancing
  24. row — a quarrel

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