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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. cold — an illness
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. season — of the year
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. dip — to sink
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. date — the fruit
  18. lean — to bend
  19. shower — rain
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. shower — to wash
  22. cold — not warm
  23. season — in sport
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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