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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. sharp — clever
  7. cold — an illness
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. face — part of the head
  10. capital — money
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. swing — music
  14. face — to confront
  15. swing — to play on
  16. capital — a city
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. face — to point toward
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. swing — in golf
  24. sharp — with an edge

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