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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. swing — music
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. shower — rain
  6. swing — in golf
  7. scale — in music
  8. field — a subject
  9. bore — to drill
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. field — farmland
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. bore — to tire
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. swing — to play on
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. scale — size or range
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. dip — to sink
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. shower — to wash
  24. field — 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