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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. perch — the fish
  3. dip — to sink
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — all right
  7. hand — in cards
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. hand — help
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. chest — a box
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. pit — in a race
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pit — a hole
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cabinet — ministers

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