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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: dip · plane · drill · hide · temple · roll · bat · sharp

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. roll — a cake
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. dip — to sink
  7. bat — the animal
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. roll — a list
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. sharp — clever
  13. drill — a practice
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. plane — a tool
  18. drill — the tool
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. drill — army training

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