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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — after costs
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. net — for catching
  6. mug — to rob
  7. dip — to sink
  8. mug — a cup
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bore — to tire
  11. cold — an illness
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. bound — certain
  15. spring — of water
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. spring — the season
  18. mug — a face
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. cold — not warm

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