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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 116 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. The water is too ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. cold — not warm
  3. saw — the tool
  4. race — a contest
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — a phone
  9. race — the arms race
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to confront
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. cell — in biology
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. game — a match
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. race — humankind
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. dip — to sink
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. game — wild animals
  24. face — to point toward

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