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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. fall — to drop
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. spring — a coil
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. pop — soda
  7. band — a ring
  8. fall — to drop
  9. band — a music group
  10. pop — music
  11. staff — employees
  12. can — to be able to
  13. fall — the season
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. spring — the season
  16. staff — a stick
  17. can — a tin
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. pop — to visit
  21. staff — employees
  22. dip — to sink
  23. wake — a trail
  24. can — a tin

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