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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. face — part of the head
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pit — a hole
  9. cold — not warm
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. face — to confront
  12. dip — to sink
  13. shower — to wash
  14. capital — money
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. snap — to click
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. shower — rain
  19. wax — to grow
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. face — to point toward
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. capital — a city

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