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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 116 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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. bat — the animal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cold — not warm
  7. band — a music group
  8. rest — what's left
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. cold — an illness
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bear — the animal
  22. rest — a break
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. band — a ring

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