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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. perch — the fish
  3. mug — a cup
  4. mate — to breed
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mug — a face
  8. rush — hurry
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. kick — in football
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mate — a partner
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. dip — to sink
  22. cold — an illness
  23. mug — to rob
  24. perch — for a bird

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