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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. firm — a company
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — the arms race
  7. dip — to sink
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cold — not warm
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. race — humankind
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. firm — steady
  15. prune — to trim
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cold — an illness
  18. last — final
  19. fall — the season
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. content — happy
  23. firm — decided
  24. content — the amount

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