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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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. dip — to sink
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. lean — thin
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. club — for dancing
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the sport
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. club — for golf
  20. lean — to bend
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. club — a group
  23. cold — an illness
  24. branch — of a tree

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