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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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. charge — electricity
  3. dip — to sink
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. land — ground
  6. land — a country
  7. charge — a price
  8. snap — to click
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. stand — to bear
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. charge — in control
  19. kid — child
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. kid — to tease
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. land — to come down

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