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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 124 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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. sharp — clever
  3. field — a subject
  4. snap — to click
  5. firm — decided
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. dip — to sink
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. firm — steady
  14. cold — an illness
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. field — farmland
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. field — for sport
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. firm — a company

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