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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rash — a series
  6. chest — a box
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. tube — a container
  10. cue — a signal
  11. last — to go on
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. bark — to shout
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rash — hasty
  16. tube — the underground
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. dip — to sink
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. last — finally
  23. cue — for pool
  24. cue — a hint

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