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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. fall — to drop
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. rock — music
  8. row — a line
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. row — to paddle
  12. saw — the tool
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. fall — the season
  15. hand — in cards
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. pit — a hole
  18. dip — to sink
  19. pit — in a race
  20. hand — help
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. saw — the tool
  23. fall — to drop
  24. rock — a stone

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