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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. clip — for paper
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. face — to confront
  7. rash — hasty
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. face — to point toward
  11. perch — the fish
  12. cold — an illness
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. face — part of the head
  15. rash — a series
  16. dip — to sink
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. clip — a video
  24. mouse — the animal

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