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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. spring — a coil
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — of the year
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. dip — to sink
  8. game — wild animals
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. game — a match
  12. spell — letters
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. season — in sport
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. spring — the season
  17. scale — in music
  18. spell — magic
  19. spring — of water
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. scale — size or range
  22. spell — a short time
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. net — for catching

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