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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. perch — the fish
  3. lie — to recline
  4. wind — moving air
  5. net — in sport
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. dip — to sink
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. mine — for digging
  11. net — for catching
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. net — after costs
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. hand — in cards
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. hand — help
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. wind — moving air
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. coach — a trainer

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