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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. dip — to sink
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rock — a stone
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. rash — a series
  9. rock — music
  10. rash — hasty
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. cold — an illness
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. track — to keep track
  20. snap — to click
  21. game — wild animals
  22. track — a song
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. track — a path

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