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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. last — finally
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. roll — a list
  6. dip — to sink
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. last — final
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. roll — a cake
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. march — the month
  15. date — the fruit
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. march — the month
  21. last — to go on
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. march — music
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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