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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. chest — a box
  3. race — humankind
  4. mug — a face
  5. ground — the earth
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cold — an illness
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. dip — to sink
  11. ground — a position
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. kick — in football
  15. ground — crushed
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. chest — of your body
  18. race — a contest
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. race — the arms race
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. mug — to rob
  23. mug — a cup
  24. dip — to dunk

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