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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. rush — hurry
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — a trace
  8. scale — size or range
  9. spring — a coil
  10. scale — in music
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. spring — of water
  13. cold — an illness
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. land — a country
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. land — ground
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. dip — to sink
  23. cold — not warm
  24. land — to come down

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