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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cue — a signal
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. cue — a hint
  8. bore — to drill
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bat — the animal
  16. spring — a coil
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. bore — to tire
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. spring — the season
  24. lash — to lash out

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