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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. object — an aim
  3. cold — not warm
  4. file — a document
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cold — an illness
  9. root — of a plant
  10. root — of a word
  11. chest — a box
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. charge — in control
  14. object — to protest
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cue — a hint
  17. charge — electricity
  18. file — a line of people
  19. dip — to sink
  20. object — a thing
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. charge — a price
  23. file — a tool
  24. root — the cause

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