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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. bulb — for light
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. cold — not warm
  5. drill — a practice
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chip — for betting
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cold — an illness
  15. dip — to sink
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. drill — army training
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. wound — an injury
  24. drill — the tool

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