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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. perch — the fish
  3. kid — to tease
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. roll — a list
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. roll — a cake
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cold — not warm
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. kid — child
  14. cold — an illness
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. march — the month
  17. toast — bread
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. march — the month
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. march — music
  24. nail — on a finger

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