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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. net — in sport
  4. club — for golf
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. spring — of water
  7. net — for catching
  8. deal — to handle
  9. spring — the season
  10. scale — size or range
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. net — after costs
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. club — for dancing
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. dip — to sink
  20. spring — a coil
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. club — a group
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. scale — in music

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