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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: row · game · hand · kick · stand · chest · mouse · dip

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. game — wild animals
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. dip — to sink
  8. hand — in cards
  9. row — a line
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. chest — a box
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. chest — of your body
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. hand — help
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. row — to paddle
  21. kick — in football
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. stand — to bear

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