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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. cold — an illness
  4. lie — to recline
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cold — not warm
  10. file — a line of people
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. file — a tool
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. chair — a leader
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. file — a document
  24. wax — to grow

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