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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. dip — to sink
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. root — of a plant
  10. cold — an illness
  11. chip — for betting
  12. spring — the season
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. spring — a coil
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. saw — the tool
  17. chip — to eat
  18. root — of a word
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. spring — of water
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. root — the cause
  24. saw — the tool

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