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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. dip — to sink
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. bass — low music
  5. cold — not warm
  6. mug — a face
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. perch — the fish
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cold — an illness
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. mug — to rob
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bass — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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