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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. file — a document
  3. spring — the season
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. drill — the tool
  6. court — for sport
  7. row — to paddle
  8. spring — of water
  9. drill — a practice
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. court — of law
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — a weight
  14. drill — army training
  15. row — a line
  16. spring — a coil
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. file — a line of people
  19. dip — to sink
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. file — a tool
  24. court — of a king

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