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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. snap — to click
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. cold — an illness
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. lean — thin
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — to sink
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rush — hurry
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. ball — a dance
  17. sharp — clever
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. ball — a great time
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. lie — an untruth
  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