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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. dip — to sink
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. last — final
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. cold — not warm
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. lie — to recline
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. hand — help
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. race — humankind
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. hand — in cards
  21. last — to go on
  22. race — a contest
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. bark — to shout

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