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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. row — a line
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. pop — to visit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. chair — a leader
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — soda
  12. row — to paddle
  13. prune — to trim
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — to recline
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cold — not warm
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. bark — to shout
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. dip — a sauce

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