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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  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 dunk
  2. bound — certain
  3. net — after costs
  4. mug — to rob
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mug — a cup
  7. cap — of ice
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. dip — to sink
  11. cold — an illness
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. cap — a hat
  14. mug — a face
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. net — in sport
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — tied together
  20. foot — a measure
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cap — a lid
  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