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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 120 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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. season — of the year
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — music
  5. game — wild animals
  6. key — for a lock
  7. file — a document
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. pop — soda
  10. key — in music
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. season — in sport
  14. file — a line of people
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. key — the most important part
  17. wind — moving air
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. wind — moving air
  20. dip — to sink
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. game — a match
  24. file — a tool

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