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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. chest — a box
  6. dip — to sink
  7. march — the month
  8. bulb — for light
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. bat — the animal
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. march — the month
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. march — music
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — to recline
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. bulb — of a plant

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