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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. swing — to play on
  3. mug — a cup
  4. kid — child
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. mug — a face
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. swing — music
  10. row — to paddle
  11. kid — to tease
  12. race — the arms race
  13. mug — to rob
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. row — a line
  17. race — humankind
  18. swing — in golf
  19. race — a contest
  20. dip — to sink
  21. face — part of the head
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. face — to confront
  24. face — to point toward

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