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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. spring — of water
  3. swing — in golf
  4. swing — to play on
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. swing — music
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. spring — a coil
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. date — the fruit
  14. ground — crushed
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position
  19. scale — in music
  20. last — final
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. spring — the season
  24. scale — size or range

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