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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. cold — an illness
  3. charge — in control
  4. shower — to wash
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. can — to be able to
  7. mug — to rob
  8. mug — a face
  9. shower — rain
  10. mug — a cup
  11. cold — not warm
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. spring — a coil
  14. dip — to sink
  15. can — a tin
  16. charge — electricity
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. spring — of water
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wake — a trail
  21. spring — the season
  22. can — a tin
  23. charge — a price
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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