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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. march — the month
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. game — wild animals
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. dip — to sink
  8. rash — hasty
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — a series
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. march — the month
  16. court — of law
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. date — the fruit
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. game — a match
  21. court — of a king
  22. march — music
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. court — for sport

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