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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. degree — from a university
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. lie — to recline
  7. file — a tool
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. file — a line of people
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. degree — an amount
  13. ball — a great time
  14. bulb — for light
  15. deal — to handle
  16. mine — for digging
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bulb — for light
  19. file — a document
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. dip — to sink
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. ball — a dance
  24. bulb — of a plant

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