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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. cell — a phone
  6. dip — to sink
  7. tube — a container
  8. tube — the underground
  9. rash — hasty
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — a series
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pound — a weight
  17. cell — in biology
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. tube — in a tire

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