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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 116 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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. prune — to trim
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mine — for digging
  9. staff — employees
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. staff — employees
  14. row — to paddle
  15. prune — to trim
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. staff — a stick
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. dip — to sink
  23. row — a line
  24. cabinet — ministers

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