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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. file — a tool
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. land — ground
  7. cap — a hat
  8. file — a line of people
  9. tube — the underground
  10. firm — steady
  11. tube — a container
  12. cap — of ice
  13. land — a country
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. land — to come down
  17. spring — of water
  18. firm — decided
  19. file — a document
  20. spring — a coil
  21. firm — a company
  22. season — in sport
  23. cap — a lid
  24. spring — the season

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