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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. last — to go on
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bound — obliged
  6. cell — in biology
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. bound — tied together
  15. file — a document
  16. last — finally
  17. bound — certain
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. last — final
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. dip — to sink
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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