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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. snap — to click
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cold — not warm
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. last — final
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. content — happy
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. last — finally
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. content — the amount
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. cold — an illness
  24. last — to go on

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