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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. bass — the fish
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. date — the fruit
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. hand — in cards
  10. lie — to recline
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. object — a thing
  15. hand — help
  16. cap — a lid
  17. object — an aim
  18. bass — low music
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. cap — a hat
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. dip — to sink
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. date — on the calendar

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