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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. fine — all right
  3. cold — an illness
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. dip — to sink
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. snap — to click
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. deal — to handle
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. cold — not warm
  14. fine — high quality
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bass — the fish
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. bass — low music
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. coach — a trainer

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