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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. saw — the tool
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. plane — a tool
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. dip — to sink
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. current — happening now
  15. saw — the tool
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. current — electric
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cold — an illness
  22. current — of water
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. bark — to shout

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