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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. hand — help
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. cap — a lid
  8. hand — in cards
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. cap — a hat
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. ground — crushed
  16. cap — of ice
  17. ground — the earth
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. ground — a position
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to click
  23. dip — to sink
  24. leaves — lets stay

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