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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — a coil
  4. face — part of the head
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. race — a contest
  9. face — to confront
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. wind — moving air
  13. face — to point toward
  14. spring — of water
  15. dip — to sink
  16. hand — help
  17. wind — moving air
  18. branch — a division
  19. race — the arms race
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pitch — completely
  24. race — humankind

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