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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. fork — in a road
  3. track — a song
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. land — a country
  6. race — a contest
  7. net — after costs
  8. spring — the season
  9. race — the arms race
  10. net — for catching
  11. spring — a coil
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. net — in sport
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. race — humankind
  16. dip — to sink
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cue — a hint
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. track — to keep track
  21. track — a path
  22. land — ground
  23. cue — for pool
  24. land — to come down

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