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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. file — a line of people
  3. wind — moving air
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. drill — the tool
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. kick — in football
  8. key — the most important part
  9. key — in music
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a document
  13. game — a match
  14. drill — army training
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. key — for a lock
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. dip — to sink
  20. game — wild animals
  21. wind — moving air
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. drill — a practice

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