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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. hand — in cards
  3. mug — to rob
  4. spring — the season
  5. dip — to sink
  6. degree — temperature
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — of water
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. mate — to breed
  12. hand — help
  13. can — a tin
  14. mate — a friend
  15. degree — from a university
  16. mug — a cup
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. mate — a partner
  19. fine — all right
  20. degree — an amount
  21. can — a tin
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. can — to be able to
  24. mug — a face

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