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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. saw — the tool
  3. mine — for digging
  4. saw — the tool
  5. dip — to sink
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rock — a stone
  10. face — to confront
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. rock — music
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. face — part of the head
  18. hand — in cards
  19. perch — the fish
  20. face — to point toward
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — from a university
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. dip — a sauce

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