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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. current — of water
  5. current — electric
  6. lie — to recline
  7. prune — to trim
  8. spring — the season
  9. mark — a grade
  10. dip — to sink
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. spring — a coil
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — the amount
  15. mark — a trace
  16. content — happy
  17. net — after costs
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. current — happening now
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. prune — to trim
  24. lie — an untruth

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