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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. court — of a king
  5. dip — to sink
  6. tear — from crying
  7. object — to protest
  8. court — of law
  9. object — an aim
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. court — for sport
  12. object — a thing
  13. last — final
  14. last — finally
  15. last — to go on
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. tear — to rip
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. cold — an illness
  21. tear — from crying
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. cold — not warm

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