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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. toast — bread
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. roll — a cake
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. roll — a list
  11. cell — in biology
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. mug — to rob
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mug — a face
  19. snap — to click
  20. chest — a box
  21. dip — to sink
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cell — a phone
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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