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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. kid — to tease
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. net — in sport
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. net — after costs
  7. kid — child
  8. fall — to drop
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. net — for catching
  11. mate — to breed
  12. fall — to drop
  13. dip — to sink
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. band — a ring
  17. mate — a partner
  18. foot — a measure
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. mate — a friend
  21. fall — the season
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. band — a music group

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