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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. spring — a coil
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. pop — to visit
  6. net — after costs
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pop — music
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. chest — of your body
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. spring — of water
  14. chest — a box
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. spring — the season
  20. tear — from crying
  21. chest — of your body
  22. net — in sport
  23. pop — soda
  24. net — for catching

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