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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. can — to be able to
  3. can — a tin
  4. spring — of water
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. net — after costs
  7. can — a tin
  8. net — for catching
  9. pass — a permit
  10. spring — a coil
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — to come from
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. cold — an illness
  15. spring — the season
  16. net — in sport
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cold — not warm
  20. saw — the tool
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. stem — of a plant

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