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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. spell — magic
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. present — a gift
  5. present — the time now
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. cap — of ice
  8. ground — a position
  9. spell — letters
  10. ground — crushed
  11. cold — not warm
  12. present — there
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. dip — to sink
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. ground — the earth
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. spell — a short time

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