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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. board — a committee
  4. dip — to sink
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cold — not warm
  7. object — a thing
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. kid — to tease
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. board — to get on
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. kid — child
  18. cell — in biology
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. object — to protest
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. object — an aim
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bear — the animal

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