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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 124 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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. tube — a container
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. cold — not warm
  8. tear — from crying
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. saw — the tool
  12. dip — to sink
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. tube — the underground
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cap — a hat
  17. tear — to rip
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a lid
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. racket — for tennis

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