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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · dip · staff · pop · suit · bat · fall · race

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. dip — to sink
  3. pop — soda
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. suit — to fit
  6. fall — the season
  7. suit — clothes
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bat — the animal
  13. staff — employees
  14. pop — music
  15. race — a contest
  16. suit — in cards
  17. staff — a stick
  18. race — the arms race
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pop — to visit
  22. staff — employees
  23. cold — not warm
  24. race — humankind

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