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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. dip — to sink
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. staff — employees
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. staff — a stick
  11. row — a line
  12. fine — high quality
  13. land — ground
  14. spring — of water
  15. row — to paddle
  16. spring — the season
  17. staff — employees
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. spring — a coil
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. fine — all right
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. land — a country

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