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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. cold — an illness
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. last — to go on
  6. season — of the year
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. season — in sport
  11. dip — to sink
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. roll — a list
  14. last — finally
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. sharp — clever
  19. cold — not warm
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. roll — a cake
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. last — final

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