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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — of ice
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. hand — in cards
  6. drill — army training
  7. swing — to play on
  8. spring — the season
  9. pound — a weight
  10. dip — to sink
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. swing — in golf
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. spring — a coil
  15. drill — the tool
  16. hand — help
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. cap — a hat
  19. spring — of water
  20. drill — a practice
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. swing — music

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