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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. cold — an illness
  3. present — there
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. mate — a friend
  6. race — the arms race
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mate — a partner
  10. chip — for betting
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. race — humankind
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. mate — to breed
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. race — a contest
  19. chip — to eat
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. present — a gift
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. present — the time now

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