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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. rest — what's left
  3. row — a line
  4. dip — to sink
  5. spell — letters
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. rest — a break
  8. cold — not warm
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. charge — a price
  12. tube — the underground
  13. spell — a short time
  14. charge — in control
  15. charge — electricity
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. cold — an illness
  18. tube — a container
  19. row — to paddle
  20. rest — what's left
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. spell — magic
  24. cold — the Cold War

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