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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. cold — not warm
  3. dip — to sink
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. mug — to rob
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mug — a cup
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. cell — a phone
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cell — in biology
  18. tear — from crying
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. mug — a face
  24. nail — for a hammer

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