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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. dip — to sink
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. rock — music
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. rule — a law
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. clip — to cut
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. rock — a stone
  14. spring — of water
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. spring — a coil
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — for paper
  20. spring — the season
  21. rule — government
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mouse — the animal

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