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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. sharp — clever
  3. lean — thin
  4. march — the month
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. spring — the season
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spring — of water
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. chair — a leader
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. march — music
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. lean — to bend
  19. wound — an injury
  20. spell — magic
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. wound — an injury
  23. spell — letters
  24. march — the month

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