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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. dip — to sink
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. chair — a leader
  7. cold — not warm
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. mug — a cup
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. rash — hasty
  13. board — a committee
  14. mug — to rob
  15. board — to get on
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cold — an illness
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. rash — a series
  20. mug — a face
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. deal — to handle
  24. rash — on the skin

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