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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. dip — to sink
  3. spell — a short time
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. chip — for betting
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. cold — not warm
  11. spell — letters
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. chip — to eat
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. rock — music
  20. present — the time now
  21. cold — an illness
  22. present — a gift
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. spell — magic

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