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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. cold — an illness
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. swing — in golf
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. swing — to play on
  11. toast — bread
  12. swing — music
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bat — the animal
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. fine — all right
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. lie — to recline
  19. ball — a great time
  20. fine — high quality
  21. dip — to sink
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. dip — to dunk

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