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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. craft — a skill
  6. file — a tool
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. file — a document
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. bat — the animal
  18. dip — to sink
  19. craft — boats
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bat — for baseball

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