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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. lie — to recline
  8. wake — a trail
  9. dip — to sink
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. scale — size or range
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. rest — a break
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cold — not warm
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. scale — in music
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. rest — what's left

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