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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. mug — to rob
  4. cold — an illness
  5. charge — a price
  6. mug — a face
  7. rule — a law
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. dip — to sink
  10. spring — the season
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. spring — of water
  14. race — a contest
  15. charge — in control
  16. mug — a cup
  17. rule — government
  18. race — humankind
  19. spring — a coil
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. cold — not warm
  22. race — the arms race
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. charge — electricity

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