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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: object · scale · chest · last · mine · lash · dip · land

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. dip — to sink
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. object — an aim
  6. object — to protest
  7. scale — size or range
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. land — ground
  11. last — to go on
  12. land — to come down
  13. last — final
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. last — finally
  16. chest — a box
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. land — a country
  21. chest — of your body
  22. object — a thing
  23. scale — in music
  24. chest — of your body

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