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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. ball — a great time
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a city
  6. bat — the animal
  7. chest — a box
  8. bear — the animal
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. chest — of your body
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. ball — a dance
  13. bear — the animal
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. dip — to sink
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. chest — of your body
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. bat — in an idiom

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