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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. ball — a great time
  3. rush — hurry
  4. wind — moving air
  5. drill — the tool
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. drill — a practice
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. staff — employees
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. wind — moving air
  15. dip — to sink
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. ball — a dance
  19. drill — army training
  20. stem — to come from
  21. staff — a stick
  22. staff — employees
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. mine — an explosive

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