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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. land — to come down
  3. club — a group
  4. rush — hurry
  5. land — ground
  6. land — a country
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. ball — a dance
  9. club — for dancing
  10. bound — certain
  11. club — for golf
  12. hand — help
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. hand — in cards
  16. dip — to sink
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. bound — tied together
  20. cold — not warm
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. cold — an illness
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. bound — obliged

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