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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. face — part of the head
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. object — a thing
  6. face — to confront
  7. club — a group
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. spring — a coil
  12. object — an aim
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. club — for dancing
  16. object — to protest
  17. face — to point toward
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — of water
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. club — for golf
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. dip — to sink

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