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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  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. dip — to dunk
  2. march — the month
  3. drill — the tool
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. cap — of ice
  6. drill — army training
  7. march — music
  8. drill — a practice
  9. cap — a hat
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. scale — size or range
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. dip — to sink
  16. cap — a lid
  17. march — the month
  18. scale — in music
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. sharp — clever
  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