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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. hand — in cards
  4. chair — a leader
  5. spring — a coil
  6. suit — clothes
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. spring — of water
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. lie — to recline
  13. dip — to sink
  14. fall — to drop
  15. suit — in cards
  16. suit — to fit
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. hand — help
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. spring — the season

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