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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. charge — a price
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. charge — electricity
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. kick — in football
  10. kid — child
  11. ground — a position
  12. charge — in control
  13. ground — crushed
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cold — not warm
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. dip — to sink
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. kid — to tease

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