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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  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. bay — a part of the sea
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. land — a country
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. content — happy
  9. spring — the season
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. dip — to sink
  13. content — the amount
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. branch — a division
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. land — ground
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. spring — a coil
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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