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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. rock — music
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. spring — of water
  5. rock — a stone
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. perch — the fish
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. craft — boats
  15. cell — a phone
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. mine — for digging
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. spring — a coil
  21. craft — a skill
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. spring — the season
  24. craft — a handicraft

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