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

Word bank: dip · toast · cap · roll · kid · bat · field · arm

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. field — farmland
  4. cap — of ice
  5. kid — child
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. cap — a lid
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. cap — a hat
  11. bat — the animal
  12. kid — to tease
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. roll — a list
  15. roll — a cake
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. field — a subject
  18. toast — bread
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. field — for sport
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. bat — in an idiom

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