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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. mine — for digging
  3. last — to go on
  4. bore — to drill
  5. cue — a signal
  6. season — of the year
  7. staff — employees
  8. last — finally
  9. bore — to tire
  10. cue — for pool
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. staff — a stick
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — to come from
  16. season — in sport
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. last — final
  20. cue — a hint
  21. dip — to sink
  22. staff — employees
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. stem — of a plant

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