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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. spring — the season
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. tube — a container
  9. pit — in a race
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. tube — the underground
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — a coil
  15. pit — a hole
  16. squash — the sport
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. squash — to crush
  20. dip — to sink
  21. cold — an illness
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. cold — not warm

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