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

Word bank: club · leaves · fall · chip · dip · pitcher · cold · perch

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. fall — the season
  3. chip — to eat
  4. club — for golf
  5. club — a group
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. dip — to sink
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. club — for dancing
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cold — an illness
  24. fall — to drop

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