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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. present — there
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. dip — to sink
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — not warm
  9. hand — in cards
  10. present — a gift
  11. stock — goods
  12. present — the time now
  13. mug — a face
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mug — a cup
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. hand — help
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cold — an illness
  24. stock — shares

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