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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. season — of the year
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. cap — a hat
  7. bat — the animal
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — of ice
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. dip — to sink
  15. bank — for money
  16. bank — for money
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bank — of a river
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. season — in sport

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