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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — hurry
  4. cold — an illness
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. dip — to sink
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. foot — a measure
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. cold — not warm
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. pass — a permit
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. lash — to lash out

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