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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. scale — in music
  5. lean — thin
  6. squash — the sport
  7. scale — size or range
  8. net — in sport
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. squash — to crush
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. land — a country
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — after costs
  15. date — the fruit
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. dip — to sink
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. lean — to bend
  22. land — to come down
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. date — on the calendar

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