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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 124 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 water is too ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. fall — to drop
  5. charge — electricity
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. dip — to sink
  8. fall — the season
  9. charge — a price
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. cold — an illness
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. foot — a measure
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. charge — in control

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