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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — to sink
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. mark — a grade
  11. cold — an illness
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. perch — the fish
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. mark — a trace
  17. rock — music
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rock — a stone
  23. cold — not warm
  24. straw — a straw man

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