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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  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. wound — an injury
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. cold — not warm
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. row — a line
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. pass — a permit
  8. ball — a dance
  9. ball — a great time
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. rest — what's left
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. dip — to sink
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. rest — a break
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rest — what's left
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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