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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  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. sharp — clever
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. dip — to sink
  5. foot — a measure
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. track — a song
  8. track — to keep track
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. cold — an illness
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. track — a path
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. cold — not warm
  18. toast — bread
  19. game — wild animals
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. game — a match
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. chair — a leader
  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