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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. craft — a skill
  3. dip — to sink
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pop — music
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. fall — the season
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. content — the amount
  13. fall — to drop
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. content — happy
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. craft — boats
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — soda

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