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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.

Make a worksheet

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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to point toward
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. dip — to sink
  9. perch — the fish
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. face — to confront
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — a lid
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. kick — in football
  22. cap — of ice
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. mine — belonging to me

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