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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — for light
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. degree — an amount
  10. saw — the tool
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. dip — to sink
  18. wound — an injury
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — temperature
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — for betting
  23. pass — a permit
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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