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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. wound — an injury
  5. court — of law
  6. dip — to sink
  7. pop — to visit
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. court — of a king
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. pop — soda
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. foot — a measure
  22. pop — music
  23. court — for sport
  24. wound — an injury

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