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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. mug — a cup
  4. mug — to rob
  5. shower — to wash
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to bend
  10. dip — to sink
  11. capital — a city
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. row — a line
  18. mug — a face
  19. shower — rain
  20. capital — money
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. row — to paddle
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. pass — a permit

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