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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. craft — boats
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. hand — help
  6. craft — a skill
  7. hand — in cards
  8. squash — to crush
  9. tear — from crying
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. pound — a weight
  15. tear — to rip
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. kick — in football
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. squash — the sport
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bat — the animal
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. tear — from crying

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