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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. dip — to sink
  3. band — a ring
  4. face — to confront
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. face — to point toward
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. face — part of the head
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. chest — a box
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pound — a weight
  18. bat — the animal
  19. band — a music group
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. roll — a cake
  23. chest — of your body
  24. roll — a list

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