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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 120 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — in music
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. rest — a break
  8. lie — to recline
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. wake — a trail
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. dip — to sink
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. cold — an illness
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. rest — what's left
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — not warm

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