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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. capital — money
  3. lie — to recline
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. cell — a phone
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. bark — to shout
  13. dip — to sink
  14. foot — a measure
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. capital — a city
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. rush — hurry

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