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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.

Make a worksheet

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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cap — of ice
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cap — a lid
  12. wind — moving air
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. cold — an illness
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. squash — to crush
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. fall — the season
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cap — a hat
  24. dip — to sink

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