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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. stand — to bear
  3. cold — not warm
  4. spell — letters
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. squash — the sport
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. present — the time now
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. squash — to crush
  14. wax — to grow
  15. present — there
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. spell — a short time
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. spell — magic
  22. spring — a coil
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. present — a gift

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