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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — to sink
  4. cold — an illness
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. sharp — clever
  7. key — for a lock
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — for light
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — in football
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. cold — not warm
  15. hand — in cards
  16. key — the most important part
  17. hand — help
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. key — in music

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