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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bear — the animal
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. dip — to sink
  5. firm — a company
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wound — an injury
  10. field — a subject
  11. firm — decided
  12. bear — the animal
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. firm — steady
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. field — for sport
  20. cold — an illness
  21. wound — an injury
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. field — farmland
  24. date — the fruit

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