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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 116 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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. face — to confront
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. cold — not warm
  8. kick — in football
  9. pit — in a race
  10. drill — army training
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. face — to point toward
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. cold — an illness
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. face — part of the head
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. drill — a practice
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. dip — to sink
  23. drill — the tool
  24. wake — a trail

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