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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. dip — to sink
  5. bear — the animal
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — happy
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. shower — rain
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pit — in a race
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. cold — the Cold War

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