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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'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. sharp — clever
  4. cold — an illness
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. cold — not warm
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. chest — a box
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. content — happy
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. dip — to sink
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. chest — of your body
  16. content — the amount
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. toast — bread
  20. firm — a company
  21. chest — of your body
  22. firm — decided
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. fan — a supporter

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