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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. game — a match
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. last — finally
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. dip — to sink
  10. last — final
  11. deal — to handle
  12. cold — not warm
  13. drill — the tool
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. face — to confront
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. last — to go on
  18. drill — a practice
  19. face — to point toward
  20. drill — army training
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. game — wild animals
  23. face — part of the head
  24. cold — an illness

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