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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: dip · perch · tear · swing · fall · tube · mine · ball

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. tear — from crying
  4. swing — in golf
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. tube — a container
  8. tear — to rip
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. ball — a great time
  11. tube — the underground
  12. fall — to drop
  13. perch — the fish
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. dip — to sink
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. swing — to play on
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. mine — for digging
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. swing — music
  24. tube — in a tire

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