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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. mine — for digging
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a great time
  5. pitch — completely
  6. cell — in biology
  7. deal — to handle
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. dip — to sink
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bark — to shout
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. hand — help
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — a phone
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. hand — part of the body

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