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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.

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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. cold — not warm
  6. hand — help
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — to sink
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. rush — hurry
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. toast — bread
  23. bark — to shout
  24. dip — a sauce

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