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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. lean — to bend
  3. wind — moving air
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. staff — employees
  9. hand — in cards
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. object — to protest
  13. staff — employees
  14. object — a thing
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. staff — a stick
  17. bat — the animal
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. hand — help
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. lean — thin
  22. fine — high quality
  23. fine — all right
  24. object — an aim

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