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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 124 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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. court — of a king
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. tube — the underground
  5. lean — to bend
  6. court — for sport
  7. cap — of ice
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. chip — to eat
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. cap — a lid
  13. court — of law
  14. game — a match
  15. cap — a hat
  16. game — wild animals
  17. race — the arms race
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. lean — thin
  21. race — humankind
  22. dip — to sink
  23. tube — a container
  24. race — a contest

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