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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. dip — to sink
  5. cell — in biology
  6. tube — the underground
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. tube — a container
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. deal — to handle
  13. chest — of your body
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. rash — hasty
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. chest — a box
  22. rash — a series
  23. cold — not warm
  24. chest — of your body

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