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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. band — a music group
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. clip — a video
  7. cue — a hint
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. bore — to tire
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. band — a ring
  13. cell — in biology
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. dip — to sink
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cue — a signal
  18. bore — to drill
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — for paper
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — a phone

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