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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. dip — to sink
  3. net — after costs
  4. lean — to bend
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. present — a gift
  10. net — in sport
  11. rock — a stone
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. bound — tied together
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. bound — obliged
  16. lean — thin
  17. tear — from crying
  18. net — for catching
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bound — certain
  21. present — there
  22. rock — music
  23. tear — from crying
  24. present — the time now

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