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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. rock — music
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the sport
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. rock — a stone
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. cold — an illness
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. cold — not warm
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. leaves — to go away

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