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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  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. dip — to dunk
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. fine — high quality
  4. net — for catching
  5. cold — not warm
  6. dip — to sink
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. field — for sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. field — a subject
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. rash — hasty
  14. cold — an illness
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. net — in sport
  17. fine — all right
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. field — farmland
  20. ball — a dance
  21. rash — a series
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. ball — a great time
  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