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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. dip — to sink
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. pitch — completely
  9. wind — moving air
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wind — moving air
  13. foot — a measure
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. content — happy
  17. land — ground
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. land — to come down
  22. content — the amount
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. land — a country

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