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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 120 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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. lie — to recline
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cap — a hat
  8. dip — to sink
  9. wax — to grow
  10. hand — in cards
  11. land — ground
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. cap — of ice
  16. land — to come down
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. hand — help
  20. rush — hurry
  21. land — a country
  22. cap — a lid
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. cold — not warm

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