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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 116 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 would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. object — to protest
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — what's left
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. bat — the animal
  7. pitch — completely
  8. object — a thing
  9. game — wild animals
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. face — to point toward
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. face — to confront
  14. object — an aim
  15. kid — child
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. face — part of the head
  19. kid — to tease
  20. dip — to sink
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — a match
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. rest — a break

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