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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. chip — for betting
  4. dip — to sink
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. perch — the fish
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — final
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. last — finally
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. chip — to eat
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bark — to shout
  24. foot — a measure

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