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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. rash — hasty
  5. game — a match
  6. present — there
  7. net — after costs
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. rash — a series
  10. cold — not warm
  11. dip — to sink
  12. game — wild animals
  13. net — for catching
  14. mug — a face
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. present — the time now
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. present — a gift
  19. mug — to rob
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. sharp — clever
  22. cold — an illness
  23. net — in sport
  24. rash — on the skin

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