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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 116 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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. spring — a coil
  3. kid — child
  4. ground — a position
  5. kid — to tease
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. dip — to sink
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — the tool
  10. rash — a series
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. spring — the season
  15. rash — hasty
  16. ground — crushed
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. ground — the earth
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. drill — a practice
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to click
  24. spring — of water

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