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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. dip — to sink
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pound — a weight
  8. fall — the season
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. wind — moving air
  11. saw — the tool
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fall — to drop
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. fall — to drop
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. cold — an illness
  23. branch — a division
  24. cold — the Cold War

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