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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. charge — a price
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. charge — electricity
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. dip — to sink
  11. saw — the tool
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. root — of a word
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. root — of a plant
  19. charge — in control
  20. saw — the tool
  21. root — the cause
  22. spring — the season
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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