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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 120 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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. shower — rain
  3. spell — magic
  4. cold — an illness
  5. game — wild animals
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — high quality
  8. spell — letters
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. bank — of a river
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bank — for money
  14. spell — a short time
  15. shower — to wash
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — a match
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. bank — for money
  22. chest — of your body
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. cold — not warm

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