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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 116 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. land — ground
  3. cap — of ice
  4. bound — tied together
  5. last — final
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. bound — obliged
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. land — to come down
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. last — finally
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cap — a hat
  17. bound — certain
  18. capital — money
  19. cap — a lid
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. land — a country
  22. last — to go on
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. capital — a city

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