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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. pitch — completely
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. chip — for betting
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. lie — to recline
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. dip — to sink
  17. chip — to eat
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. clip — a video
  20. season — in sport
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  24. lie — an untruth

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