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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. ground — crushed
  4. file — a tool
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. dip — to sink
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. toast — bread
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. file — a document
  13. ground — the earth
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. lie — to recline
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. cold — not warm
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. file — a line of people
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. ground — a position
  24. fan — a supporter

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