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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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. perch — for a bird
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. dip — to sink
  8. mine — for digging
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. press — to push
  12. snap — to click
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. press — newspapers
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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