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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. chair — a leader
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bat — the animal
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. mine — for digging
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. sharp — clever
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. kick — in football
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bat — in an idiom

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