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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. face — to confront
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. spell — letters
  5. dip — to sink
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. row — a line
  11. row — to paddle
  12. hand — help
  13. spell — magic
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — a trail
  16. spell — a short time
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. bat — the animal

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