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

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. cold — not warm
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. pop — to visit
  6. present — the time now
  7. pop — soda
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. cold — an illness
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. present — there
  15. dip — to sink
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pop — music
  18. safe — out of danger

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