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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. wind — moving air
  5. perch — the fish
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. mug — a cup
  13. plane — a tool
  14. mug — to rob
  15. wind — moving air
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. sharp — clever
  19. cold — an illness
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. mug — a face
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — a supporter

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