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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 116 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. deal — to handle
  3. object — an aim
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mug — to rob
  7. season — in sport
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. bat — the animal
  11. object — to protest
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. object — a thing
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. mug — a cup
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. season — of the year
  21. dip — to sink
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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