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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. ground — the earth
  5. cold — an illness
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. spring — of water
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. cold — not warm
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. spring — a coil
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. spring — the season
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — crushed
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. dip — to sink
  24. lie — to recline

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